The Green Mile: Bobbie-Jo's Story
by MagicMovieNerd
Summary: Paul Edgecomb's teen daughter, Bobbie-Jo, worries about his health when she learns he has a bladder infection. One day, she does the unthinkable by disguising herself as a male prison guard and working alongside her father in E Block. Over time, they meet an inmate named John Coffey, who shows Bobbie-Jo that miracles can happen.
1. Chapter 1

**Louisiana, 1935**  
In a small town during the Great Depression, we see a teenage girl riding her bicycle on a street. She had light skin, long blonde hair, and blue eyes; she also wore a white shirt under a red dress, brown shoes, and a yellow necklace. The girl's name was Bobbie-Jo Edgecomb, and she was on her way home from doing a few errands around town. Inside her bike's basket was a bag full of a few groceries; even though money was tight, Bobbie-Jo did whatever she could to help her family, especially since her father, Paul, wasn't feeling well recently. On this day, the sun was shining brightly, the birds were chirping, and Bobbie-Jo was in a cheerful mood. "I can't wait to tell Daddy and Mama about what happened today," she told herself with a smile. During that day, the young girl found some good bargains for some of the food her family needed at the market, and she was eager to see how proud her parents would be at her for being frugal.

When she came home, Bobbie-Jo took the grocery bag out of her bike basket before tying her bike to a tree with a strong rope. She then ran up to the front entry of her house with her bag in one hand. When she opened the door, she called out, "Mama, Daddy, I'm home!" There was no answer. Bobbie-Jo walked into the house and looked around before she set the bag on a nearby table. She then looked down and saw a note on the table, which read:  
 _Bobbie-Jo, your father is having some trouble urinating today. He had to come home from work early, and so he and I are up in our bedroom – he's taking a little rest, and I'm giving him some water to help him a bit. Do not be concerned when you come home from the market._  
 _Love, Mama_

Bobbie-Jo immediately knew something was wrong, so she ran up the staircase as fast as she could. When she got to her parents' bedroom door, she saw that it was closed, so she knocked. Her mother, Jan, opened it up; Jan had dark blonde hair and blue eyes, and she was wearing a green and white polka dot dress made from recycled chicken feed sacks, stockings, and brown shoes. "Come on, honey," she told Bobbie-Jo. Bobbie-Jo slowly stepped into the room and saw her father, Paul, resting on a bed. He had dark hair and green eyes, and he was wearing a white dress shirt that was unbuttoned at the top, black-navy blue pants held up by suspenders, and black socks. "Your daughter wanted to see us," Jan said to Paul.  
Paul saw Bobbie-Jo walk towards him and said with a weak smile, "Hi, sweetheart. Did you have a nice time in town today?"  
"Yes," Bobbie-Jo said with a sad smile, "The stuff we needed was cheap today – so I bought some things we needed. What happened, Daddy?"  
Paul sighed and explained, "It's pretty hard to explain. Today at work, I tried to 'drain myself,' but I had a hard time for some reason. Whenever I tried to do so, only a little bit of pee made it out. About an hour ago, I had the urge again, but I had a little accident before I reached the restroom. So I just told all the other men I work with to take care of the Mile while I went home to rest." Paul was a prison guard at Cold Mountain Penitentiary, the local prison, and he worked on the E Block, which was home to death row inmates. In those days, death row was called the "Last Mile," because the inmates walked the floors of that place before their execution by the electric chair. E Block was nicknamed the "Green Mile," because the floors shone green like a peridot in the sunlight.

Her father's mention of the Mile made Bobbie-Jo think of something. "Daddy," she asked, "What's it like working with dangerous people who've done evil things? Do you ever feel sorry for killing them in the end?"  
Paul hesitated for a moment; no one, not even his daughter or adult son (who was away in college), ever asked him that question. "Well, Bobbie-Jo," he answered, "Not all those inmates appear to be evil. In fact, something happens to them when they're under my supervision, along with the other men I work with – Mr. Howell, Mr. Terwilliger, Mr. Stanton, Mr. Wetmore, and even Warden Hal Moores. The monster inside them, I suppose, just disappears and they almost become friends or even family. However, we still have to be hard on them, 'cause of the horrible things they did before coming to death row – raping, murdering, assaulting, you name it. As for when they're executed, you may feel a small pain in your heart for doing it, but you're putting them out of misery for the better."  
"So that way people can learn their lessons about what'll happen if you do what the inmates did?" Bobbie-Jo asked, feeling sorry for what she asked her father.  
"I suppose so," Paul replied. His expression changed to slight annoyance as he asked his daughter, "Bobbie-Jo, why did you ask me those questions?"  
"Just outta curiosity," the girl replied, "In fact, sometimes I wish I could be a police officer someday."  
Jan put her hand on Bobbie-Jo's shoulder and asked, "Honey, why do you want such a dangerous job? Especially in times like these when crime is growing?"  
"Mama, I wanna make a difference," Bobbie-Jo said, "I am my father's daughter, aren't I? That's why I think it's important to keep Louisiana safe from evil."  
Jan said with a stern voice, "Bobbie-Jo, you know that women just can't be cops. It's unladylike and, like I said, very dangerous."  
"Besides," added Paul, "Even if you were allowed to become one of the first female police officers, you'd have to go through a long time of law school and police academy – you'd have to learn how to run through different obstacle courses, how to shoot a gun, and how to reason safely and wisely with other citizens!"  
Bobbie-Jo turned away from her parents, and went out of the bedroom before closing the door. She then went to her own bedroom to think to herself for a little while. _Why can't I be able to make a difference?_ she thought, _Someday, I'll prove both of them wrong. I'll prove I can do big things, too!_


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Bobbie-Jo was visiting with two of her friends, Marion and Yvonne; Marion had medium-length strawberry blonde hair, freckles, and brown eyes, and she wore a purple and white dress, a black choker with a purple rhinestone in the center, white stockings, and black flat shoes; Yvonne had brown hair that she kept braided and turquoise eyes, and she wore a white shirt under an orange dress made from recycled chicken feed sacks, a pair of glasses, and brown boots. The three girls decided to go see a movie, and they all agreed on _Top Hat_. During that time, the girls laughed and sighed when they saw Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers sing and dance. When the movie was over, Marion asked Bobbie-Jo, "So what do you think of the movie?"  
Bobbie-Jo happily sighed and said, "I thought it was pretty good!" Her smile dropped a little bit as she said, "I wish my daddy were here to see it with us."  
"Bobbie-Jo, you know your father has to work hard on that creepy prison block to earn money," said Yvonne, "No offense, by the way, but I do NOT want to be a death row prison guard!"  
"Why not?" the blonde girl asked.  
"Because I don't like the thought of death," Yvonne replied with a shudder, "Just thinking about your body shutting down unexpectedly and forcibly by electrocution makes me sick."  
"Maybe you shouldn't talk about it," Marion suggested as she moved her neck a little bit, showing off her choker, "That ought to save your neck!"  
Yvonne noticed Marion and told Bobbie-Jo with annoyance, "I forgot to tell you. You should say something about her new choker before she gets whiplash!"  
Bobbie-Jo turned to Marion and said with a tiny bit of enthusiasm, "Um, Marion, that's a pretty choker. Is it new?"  
"What, this ol' thing?" Marion asked as she felt her collar. She smiled and said, "Yes. By the way, I hear about your daddy and his co-workers. Do you think, um, a certain Mr. Wetman will notice someday?"  
Bobbie-Jo sighed and said, "I think his name's Percy Wetmore. And from what I've heard from Daddy, I'm afraid the only way Percy notices anyone is if they're wearing a real diamond! Besides, that man is so mean to others, that I don't think he'd be the right choice for you. My daddy, on the other hand, tries to make his inmates feel comfortable before their final days." Sometimes Bobbie-Jo would eavesdrop on stories about her father's days at Cold Mountain. On one occasion, she heard about one of Paul's co-workers, a young man named Percy Wetmore, who was the nephew of Louisiana's First Lady. Percy was a spoiled, bad-tempered, and bratty man who delighted in tormenting inmates, especially a Cajun newcomer named Eduard Delacroix. Just hearing about Percy made Bobbie-Jo hate him, despite the fact that she had never met him in person.

For the rest of the afternoon, the three girls rode their bikes to the edge of a forest, but they still managed to be aware, because thieves, hobos, and other criminals could have been hiding anywhere; heavily forested and deserted areas were hotspots for those kinds of people. "Boy, I sure had a fun time today!" Marion exclaimed with happiness.  
"So did I," added Yvonne, "I especially like that 'I'm in Heaven' song from the movie."  
While the two girls kept chattering on about their day, Bobbie-Jo hung her head with worry and depression. Ever since her father came home sick from work, the young girl worried about him, especially since they had a tight-knit relationship. She lifted her head back up and told nervously her friends, "Um, I just remembered something! I have to take out the… I have to mind the… I gotta go!"  
As the blonde girl hopped onto her bike, Yvonne asked with concern, "Bobbie-Jo, are you okay?"  
"You're acting a little squirrely," added Marion, "Is something wrong?"  
Marion calmed down a little and confessed, "My daddy's sick, but I think he'll be okay… as long as I come home to check on him! I had a nice time with you gals, I hope to see y'all tomorrow!" At the last two words, Bobbie-Jo started pedaling her way home, while Marion and Yvonne exchanged confused looks.

Bobbie-Jo arrived home just as the sun began to set, which was the time she was supposed to be home by. Jan opened the door and greeted her daughter with a smile; Bobbie-Jo then ran to her mother and embraced her with a hug. "How was your time with your friends today?" Jan asked with a warm smile.  
"Oh, it was great!" Bobbie-Jo said, "We went to go see a movie called _Top Hat_ , and we loved it! And then we rode our bikes a bit and just talked." Her smile turned to a look of concern as she asked, "How's Daddy doing?"  
Jan looked at her daughter with a sad smile and said, "Well, he did fine at work today – he came home just a few minutes ago. But now, he's trying to reach the outhouse before another leakage happens."  
Bobbie-Jo's jaw dropped with worry, so she ran past her mother and inside the house to see what was happening. Paul had just come in through the back entryway, and was zipping up his pants while grunting with frustration. He noticed his daughter and said with surprise, "Bobbie-Jo! I'm so sorry you had to see me zip up my pants. I had another bladder attack, and I couldn't make it."  
"I'm so sorry, Daddy," the girl said with her head hanging low.


	3. Chapter 3

That evening, the Edgecomb family was enjoying a light dinner of potato casserole, and Paul and Jan were discussing a few things. "So, what happened today?" Jan asked Paul.  
"Oh, I heard word that we may get a new inmate in a couple of days," Paul answered after he finished eating a bite of casserole, "A colored man by the name of John Coffey is bein' accused of raping and murdering two young white girls." Bobbie-Jo, who was quietly and slowly moving her food back and forth with her fork, listened in a little bit on her father's words. "And next week, we'll be executing that Native American fella Arlen Bitterbuck," Paul continued, "We'll have to give him Ol' Sparky's treatment." "Ol' Sparky" was the nickname of the electric chair at Cold Mountain Penitentiary. Paul then looked at his daughter and asked, "Bobbie-Jo, did you have a nice time with your friends today? I don't think I asked you that when you came home."  
Bobbie-Jo gave her father a small smile and said, "Um, it was pretty good. We went to the movies and saw Top Hat, which we all liked. And then, we rode our bikes and just talked." She went back to eating her dinner as she heaved a heavy sigh.

Paul knew something was wrong with Bobbie-Jo. It wasn't like her to explain about happy days with a sad or worried tone of voice, so he asked her, "Honey, is something wrong?"  
Bobbie-Jo was about to take a bite out of some casserole, but then she confessed, "Okay. I'll ask this – Daddy, do you know what's wrong with you?"  
"Bobbie-Jo, it's kind of hard to explain here at the dinner table," Paul said with a nervous look. He looked at Jan, and then at Bobbie-Jo before suggesting, "Maybe I could explain it to you and your mama after we finish cleaning up the table and the kitchen?"  
"Let's do so, honey," Jan told her daughter, "That way, I won't have to put up with any nasty talk about insides of bodies." Bobbie-Jo couldn't help but giggle at her mother's remark, which made her feel a little bit better.

Later before bedtime, Bobbie-Jo was in her bedroom and had just finished changing into her white nightgown with a green sash around the waist, when she heard a knock at her door. "Come in!" she called. The door opened, and Paul came in; he was dressed in a pair of blue and white striped pajamas over a white undershirt. "Oh, hi, Daddy," Bobbie-Jo said as she looked at her room's entryway.  
Paul walked up to the foot of Bobbie-Jo's bed and asked, "Honey, remember that question you asked at dinner?" Bobbie-Jo nodded before her father said, "Well, sit down and I'll tell you."  
The young girl sat onto her bed before Paul joined her. Bobbie-Jo turned to him and asked, "What is it?"  
Paul sighed through his nostrils, shook his head, and said, "Bobbie-Jo, I'm afraid I might have a severe bladder infection."  
The girl's eyes widened a little bit and she asked with shock, "What do you mean?"  
Paul put his hand on her shoulder and explained, "Well, sometimes I get pain in the lower part of my stomach, and when I get the urge to pee, I either can't do it in the toilet, or I don't make it to the toilet, and I have an accident."  
Bobbie-Jo became even more worried; if her father had trouble urinating, it might have meant that he didn't have a long time left to live. She started to ask, "Daddy, does that mean you're gonna…"  
"No," Paul said with a sad expression, "I just need to find some good medicine soon, and drink more liquids. Then maybe something will change for the better." He embraced Bobbie-Jo with a hug, and then kissed her on the forehead before bidding her goodnight; Paul then walked away from his daughter, and then exited her bedroom.

That night, after going to sleep, Bobbie-Jo began to dream about being lost in a meadow on a foggy day. As she looked around, she started to see a faint light up in the sky. While doing so, Bobbie-Jo sang:

 _If you were with me now_  
 _I'd find myself in you_  
 _If you were with me now_  
 _You're the only one who knows_  
 _All the things we plan to do_

Bobbie-Jo began running towards the light as the clouds lifted and the sun began to shine. On the ground, Paul was standing just underneath the sun with a smile on his face, and Bobbie-Jo kept singing:

 _I want to live my life_  
 _The way you said I would_  
 _With courage as my light_  
 _Fighting for what's right_  
 _Like you make me believe I could!_

Before she could hug him, Paul disappeared from Bobbie-Jo's sight! But then, a pair of wings formed onto the girl's back, and gave her hope as she gained determination to fly around and find her father.

 _And I will fly on my father's wings_  
 _To places I have never been_  
 _There is so much I've never seen_  
 _And I can feel his heartbeat still_  
 _And I will do great things_  
 _On my father's wings!_

Bobbie-Jo ran as her wings started flapping continuously; eventually, the girl found herself flying off the ground, and away from the meadow! She flew over a pasture, and a horse lifted his head up to greet her as she reached her hand down to rub his head!

 _This world I'll never see_  
 _My dreams that just won't be_  
 _This horse's stride_  
 _With one day's ride_  
 _Will have covered more distance than me!_

Bobbie-Jo continued flying through the air, passing over different houses, trees, and the Mississippi River Delta; she searched all around for her father as she sang:

 _But I will fly on my father's wings_  
 _To places I have never been_  
 _There is so much I've never seen_  
 _And I can feel his heartbeat still_  
 _And I will do great things_  
 _On my father's wings!_

Eventually, Bobbie-Jo decided to fly down to a lush, green island off Louisiana's coast, and landed upon the soft, green grass. She looked around, and then saw Paul smiling and watching her beside a tree!

 _Someday with his spirit to guide me_  
 _And his memory beside me_  
 _I will be free to_  
 _Fly on my father's wings!_

Bobbie-Jo ran to her father again, and this time, Paul was able to embrace her with a bear hug, and a kiss on her cheek. He then let go, and when the song finished, we go back to reality, where Bobbie-Jo was smiling in her sleep.

 _To places I have never been_  
 _There is so much I've never seen_  
 _And I can feel his heartbeat still_  
 _And I will do great things_  
 _On my father's wings! (2x)_

Author's Note: The song "On My Father's Wings" is from the movie "Quest for Camelot." ((c) Warner Bros)


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Bobbie-Jo was having a relaxing day at home, sitting underneath her favorite tree in the front yard. While doing so, she pondered over her discussion with her father the night before – was Paul really sick that he was knocking on death's door? Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a bicycle bell jingle. Bobbie-Jo looked to see Marion and Yvonne on their bikes, riding up to her house. Jan, who was doing some laundry close to her daughter, saw the girls and happily waved hello. "Bobbie-Jo, your friends are here to see you!" Jan called to her daughter. Bobbie-Jo heard her mother's call, and ran over to join her friends.  
"C'mon, Bobbie-Jo!" Marion called, "Let's all ride over to the park. Whaddya say?"  
The blonde girl seemed to agree, so she untied her bike from a different tree and asked her mother, "Mama, is it okay if I go riding with Yvonne and Marion?"  
Jan smiled and said, "Of course. Just be home before noon, okay?"  
Yvonne assured Jan, "Don't worry, Mrs. Edgecomb. I promise – Bobbie-Jo will come home in time for some of your cooking!" Jan giggled and then allowed her daughter to go bike riding with her friends. But as the three girls left, Jan's smile dropped a bit, because she really wanted them all to be safe, especially after she heard Paul's story about possibly having a new inmate who raped and murdered two young girls.

When they reached the park, Bobbie-Jo and her friends parked their bikes near a bench, and then sat down on the bench to chat for a while. "So, Bobbie-Jo," said Yvonne, "How's your daddy doin'?"  
The blonde girl hung her head and sadly said, "Not too great, I'm afraid." She heaved a heavy sigh and continued, "It's some kind of bladder infection. He has trouble urinating." Marion and Yvonne cringed a little bit in disgust. "Sorry to bring it up," said Bobbie-Jo, "But I'm worried. What if his bladder explodes suddenly, and there's nothing we can do about it?"  
Marion put her hand on Bobbie-Jo's shoulder and said with a small smile, "It's okay, Bobbie. I'm sure your daddy will be fine."  
"What makes you think that?" The blonde girl asked as she moved her head away from Marion.  
"Because he has strong men at the penitentiary to help him out," Marion explained dreamily, "Especially that handsome Percy. I've seen pictures of him in the paper with his auntie, and he is something!"  
Bobbie-Jo just grimaced at the mention of her father's selfish co-worker. "I may never have met him, but I can tell you this," she said, "My daddy says that working with Percy is NOT a dream come true! He says that man has a short temper, he's self-centered, and he abuses other inmates!"  
"Why should your daddy care about killers and torturers?" Yvonne inquired with a frown.  
Bobbie-Jo started getting angry and said, "Didn't I tell y'all yesterday that Daddy treats inmates with respect and tries to make them comfortable before their last days alive? They may have done some bad things, but don't we all? And when we do, we should be forgiven!"  
Marion and Yvonne were alarmed by their friend's outburst, and Yvonne said nervously, "Damn, Bobbie-Jo! We didn't mean it as an insult!"  
"Yeah," added Marion, "We were just saying that…"  
"What you say doesn't matter to me, okay?!" Bobbie-Jo snapped as she headed back towards her bike, "I'm just really upset, 'cause my father's sick! I'm worried about him dying, and I think you should, too!" With those words, the blonde girl hopped onto her bike and rode home with anger and regret; Marion and Yvonne just watched on with sad expressions on their faces.

When she came home, Bobbie-Jo was on the verge of crying as she tied her bike up to a tree. Her mother looked on with concern, but Bobbie-Jo looked away sadly. Jan came over to her daughter and asked, "Sweetie, what's wrong? Did you have a disagreement with one of the girls?"  
Bobbie-Jo nodded and replied, "I'm just upset that Daddy's not well. He told me what it was last night, and I'm worried about him. What if his bladder explodes? What if he can't use the restroom or outhouse anymore?"  
"Honey, I doubt that it's anything too serious," Jan said with a soft smile; she put her arm around her daughter and continued, "Your father has a very strong spirit. He handles the worst kinds of criminals and the toughest of police officers every day. If he can do those things, he can certainly fight off a urinary infection. It'll go away soon – promise."  
Bobbie-Jo gave her mother a small, reluctant smile. "I hope so," she sighed, "Because I want to be there for Daddy in case ANYTHING happens."  
"Well, women are usually discouraged to be prison guards," said Jan, "But you certainly can go to town to get the right foods and medicine to help him." With those words, Jan made her way back to the house to prepare lunch.

That evening, Paul came home from Cold Mountain at the usual time – just before supper. In Bobbie-Jo's mind, that meant everything was okay for her father, but in her heart, things told a different story. At dinner, the family was having a quiet time eating chicken broth and bread, but hardly any words were spoken. Eventually, Bobbie-Jo gathered as much courage as she could, pounded her milk glass, and shouted at her father, "You shouldn't have to keep doing this!"  
"Bobbie-Jo!" Jan started.  
But Bobbie-Jo kept ranting, "There are plenty more men out there on the E Block to supervise those criminals!"  
"Barbara Josephine, what's this all about?!" Paul inquired his daughter.  
"You know what it's about," Bobbie-Jo said, "It's about your health! I'm worried about you. You need a miracle to cure what you have! I mean, what if your bladder explodes? What if you have to start living like a baby all over again? What if…"  
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Paul shouted, startling his daughter. After a brief period of silence, Paul told his daughter with a frown, "Bobbie-Jo, I told you before that you don't have to worry about my health. This is an adult-kind of matter. Besides, you know that someone has to be in charge of the guards on death row. What you should be worrying about is saving your money, helping your mama with chores around the house, and behaving like a proper young lady! … This discussion is over, Bobbie-Jo." Bobbie-Jo's eyes became moist, her lips started trembling, and she got up from the table. She ran to the stairs and went into her bedroom before falling onto her bed to cry.


	5. Chapter 5

All night, Bobbie-Jo couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned, and thought about her father all the time. Finally, at around four o'clock in the morning, Bobbie-Jo began thinking. Echoes stirred up in her mind.  
"You're acting a little squirrely," said Marion's voice, "Is something wrong?"  
"Honey, I doubt that it's anything too serious," said Jan's voice.  
"What you should be worrying about is saving your money, helping your mama with chores around the house, and behaving like a proper young lady!" said Paul's voice.  
Bobbie-Jo tried cancelling out the noises by covering her ears with her pillow, but it was no use. She sat up in bed and looked at her bedroom door for quite a while. She thought long and hard about her father's condition, until she finally decided it was time to stand up and do something.

Bobbie-Jo climbed out of bed, and walked over to a wall, which had a holy cross nailed to it. She prayed to God that she would be protected by Him, and forgiven for what she was about to do next. After praying, Bobbie-Jo snuck out of her room and made her way to her sleeping parents' room. She placed her yellow necklace on the drawer beside Paul's side of the bed, indicating that she was running away, and that he needed something to remember her for the time being. Carefully, without waking anyone up, Bobbie-Jo went to the closet and found one of her father's spare prison guard uniforms, a spare hat, a spare baton, and a spare pistol. She carefully took everything and silently snuck back to her bedroom.

Standing in front of her vanity mirror, Bobbie-Jo picked up a pair of scissors, took a deep breath, and began cutting off her long hair; in a matter of minutes, her hair was so short that she could be mistaken for a man if she had to. She then looked at the uniform, which was laid out on her bed, and then put it on. After a few minutes, Bobbie-Jo looked like a male prison guard – she wore a white dress shirt underneath a black/navy blue jacket with shiny buttons, matching pants, a black tie, black dress shoes, a belt to hold all her guard accessories, and a prison guard hat. She then snuck out of the house, and made her way to her bicycle, and then climbed onto it; she gave one last glace to her house, knowing that she would have to face the consequences of her decision sooner or later. Soon after, Bobbie-Jo was on her way to Cold Mountain Penitentiary, where she could help her father out by pretending to be a prison guard.

Back inside the house, Jan had just woken up from a nightmare, and climbed out of bed to check on her daughter. Jan stepped into Bobbie-Jo's room and began, "Bobbie-Jo, I just wanted to…" She gasped when she saw that her daughter was nowhere to be seen. "Paul!" Jan cried, "Bobbie-Jo's gone!"  
Paul, who had heard his wife's cry, woke with a start and turned on his lamp. "Bobbie-Jo?" he wondered. He then noticed her necklace lying on the bedside drawer and whispered, "It can't be!" Paul got out of bed and went over to his closet, seeing that one of his uniforms was missing! "Bobbie-Jo?" he called, "Bobbie-Jo!" There was no answer.  
Jan came out of her daughter's room and ran to her husband, saying, "I can tell that she's nowhere in the house!" Paul went past his wife and ran to Bobbie-Jo's bedroom; he looked down and saw his daughter's cut hair lying on the ground. It was that moment that Paul realized that his daughter ran away to become a prison guard.  
Paul ran out of the front door, crying out, "BOBBIE-JOOOOOO!" When he ran down the path outside, though, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach and collapsed to the ground. He looked down the road with moist eyes and softly said, "No. My darling little girl, please, come back!"  
Jan ran up to her husband to help him and saw the situation. "What are we gonna do, Paul?" she asked with worry, "Did she go to the prison? Oh, she could be killed by one of the inmates!"  
Paul held up his hand and stated, "No. If any of my men or even the head warden find out she's a female… she might as well be." Jan buried her face into Paul's shoulder and began crying; her husband embraced her for comfort and said, "When I leave later this morning, the first thing I'm gonna do… is find her. She'll probably camp out somewhere and rehearse what she's gonna say to them other guards, but trust me. I'll find her and give her a good lecture about what she just did right now." Paul slowly stood up and Jan helped him, and then the two went back inside to sleep some more.


	6. Chapter 6

Meanwhile, a few hours later, Bobbie-Jo was about 100 yards away from Cold Mountain, and was preparing for and reciting what she would say when she entered the E Block. "Okay, I can do this," she told herself, "BJ will be my new name when I come in there." She cleared her throat and said with a gruff man's voice, "Uh, excuse me! Where do I sign in to be employed here? Ah, I see y'all have a gun! I got one, too!" She tried to move fast enough to take "her" gun out of her belt, but she wasn't quick enough, and the weapon fell down to the ground. Bobbie-Jo groaned and said, "I need to work on my speed! Maybe if I practice a little more, then maybe I can…"  
" **BARBARA JOSEPHINE EDGECOMB!** " a familiar voice shouted from behind. Bobbie-Jo let out a yelp, and fell forward into some dirt. Paul had been behind her and yelled at her, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!"  
Bobbie-Jo turned around to see her father staring down at her with a deadly glare. "Daddy, please!" she cried, "I can explain."  
"Your mother and I thought you were kidnapped, or even killed!" Paul continued, "But then I saw that one of my uniforms was gone, and now I see that you're wearing it!"  
"But, Daddy, I had to…"  
Bobbie-Jo's sentence was cut off when Paul snatched her hat off and said, "I also saw a lot of your beautiful golden hair lying on your bedroom floor. You should look in a mirror and see what you did to your lady image!" He took a deep breath and sighed angrily, "Tell me why you did this, young lady."  
Bobbie-Jo stood up and calmly said with moist eyes, "Look, Daddy, I'm sorry that I upset you and Mama. But to tell the truth, I was overcome with fear and hurt, and I couldn't let you keep suffering." Paul wanted to lecture his daughter again, but he knew better to hear her story. Bobbie-Jo continued, "I just wanna help you. You know, till you're free from your infection!"  
Paul was happy that his daughter wanted to help, but he was still angry at her for running away. He thought about her words and finally took a deep breath and sighed, "Bobbie-Jo, I'll tell you what. I will let you come with me to E Block and work with me – but when the time comes when I'm well again, then it's staying right back at home for you, understand?"  
Bobbie-Jo nodded and said, "Okay, Daddy. I understand." She crossed her heart with her finger before holding out her hand to shake her father's hand.  
Paul then shook hands with his daughter and handed her back her hat. "Okay, let's do this, then," he said, "But remember, you're dealing with inmates who have murdered, raped, and assaulted people. Also, when we come face to face with my co-workers, there will be full respect and no insults or back-talking. Got it?" Bobbie-Jo nodded before Paul said, "Good. Let's go, BJ."  
Bobbie-Jo smiled and laughed, "How'd you know I was gonna go by 'BJ' in there?"  
"I'm your father," Paul said as he and his daughter walked over to Cold Mountain, "I know everything!"

Several minutes later, Paul and Bobbie-Jo arrived at the Penitentiary. All around them were people dressed in the infamous black and white striped jumpsuits; those prisoners were part of the Chain Gang. At E Block's highly secured gate, some guards noticed Paul and Bobbie-Jo, so they opened up the gate. "Hey, Paul," one of them said, "I see you have someone new."  
"Um, yes, he's uh… my nephew," Paul lied, "This is BJ Edgecomb."  
Bobbie-Jo smiled nervously and said in her male voice, "Uh, yeah! How's it goin', guys?" Paul took her arm, which indicated that they should keep moving on. When they got past the gates, Bobbie-Jo kept on walking beside her father, while looking forward to see a creepy-looking building – E Block.  
"Now death row is often called the 'Last Mile,'" Paul explained, "We call ours the 'Green Mile,' because our floors shine green…"  
"Like a peridot in the sunlight," Bobbie-Jo finished with a smile.  
Paul playfully smirked at her and asked, "How'd you know that?"  
"I've been hearing stories from you," Bobbie-Jo admitted with a nervous grin; she knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but she couldn't help it.

When they went in, Paul and Bobbie-Jo were met by five different men; four of them were wearing the same uniforms as the father and daughter, but one old man was wearing a white dress shirt with a red tie, brown slacks held up by suspenders, and black shoes – he was Hal Moores, the chief warden of the prison. One of the other men stood at about six feet tall, had white hair, and dark blue eyes; he was Brutus Howell, nicknamed Brutal, because of his tall stature and strength. Another man had dark hair with gray touches, brown eyes, and glasses; he was Harry Terwilliger. The third man was younger and had sleek, dark blonde hair and blue eyes; he was Dean Stanton. The last man appeared to be only in his mid-twenties, and had brown hair and hazel green eyes; that was the notorious Percy Wetmore, and he noticed Bobbie-Jo with a disapproving look.  
"Paul, it looks like you brought us a new recruit," Hal said to Paul with a raised brow.  
"Um, yes," said Paul, "This is… my nephew, BJ."  
Bobbie-Jo smiled and said with her manly voice, "Yep! I'm the new guy around here!"  
Hal looked at "BJ" and asked, "Well, what does 'BJ' stand for?"  
Bobbie-Jo became dumbfounded. She hadn't thought of that before as she stammered, "Oh, uh… I… it stands for…"  
"The warden just asked you a simple question!" Percy said to her with a snippy voice.  
"Percy, stay outta this for now!" Paul ordered him.  
Bobbie-Jo, or BJ as we know her for now, cleared "his" throat and said, "I know what it stands for – it stands for a man's name!"  
"Well, what is it?" Brutal asked as he looked at the newcomer.  
BJ thought for a moment, and then said, "It stands for, uh… Billy-John!"  
"Billy-John?" Hal inquired.  
Paul looked at his "nephew" with an odd look as BJ stated with a smile, "Yeah, my name is Billy-John! But y'all can just call me BJ."  
"This young man is your nephew, Paul?" Hal asked Paul.  
"Yes, um… he's my, uh, brother's son," Paul lied.  
"Yeah," added BJ, "It's just that my daddy and my Uncle Paul here don't talk about me much. I was a little bit of a problem child when I was a kid, but, uh, I'm straightened out now!" BJ stood on "his" toes, but "he" fell over and landed on "his" back. An inmate in a nearby cell laughed at the newcomer and remarked with a Cajun accent, "Look at that lil' shrimp! He think he tough around them big guys! But really, he a little skimpy shrimpy!"  
"Del, be quiet!" Paul told the inmate, whose name was Eduard Delacroix; he was nicknamed Del for short.

As BJ got back on "his" feet, Hal looked at "him" and said with a stern tone, "So, young man, do you think you have what it takes to be a real man and watch over terrible criminals?"  
BJ's smile dropped a bit, but then "he" said with a little more determination, "Um, yes sir!"  
"Well, I just got word that tomorrow, we'll be getting a new friend in one of those cells," explained Hal as he pointed to the hallway of jail cells, "A negro named John Coffey has been found guilty of raping and murdering two little white girls, and he'll be spendin' the rest of his days here on the Green Mile. Already, we have Mr. Delacroix, who was making fun of you a minute ago, and we have Mr. Bitterbuck, who's gonna sit on our chair next week."  
"You mean Ol' Sparky?" BJ asked.  
"How'd you know?" Hal asked.  
"I heard stories 'bout my Uncle Paul from my daddy," BJ lied.  
"Well, that's something I haven't heard in a long time," Brutal whispered to the other men.  
"Yeah, not to mention that I didn't know Paul had a nephew named Billy-John," Dean muttered.  
Hal then looked back at Paul, who nodded a bit, and then announced, "All right, fellas, since BJ is now joining us, we'll have to give him as much respect as we can. He's new to this whole prison guard thing, and it would be nice to give him as much help as you can!" The other men looked at each other in disbelief; "hiring" a new recruit was totally unexpected, and none of them (particularly Percy and Hal) were sure that BJ would be a good employee.


	7. Chapter 7

Later that morning, Bobbie-Jo, Paul, and the other men were outside the E Block building, preparing to give their newcomer some kind of training. Hal was standing in front of the men, holding a bow and arrow and explaining, "Now, BJ, to be a good security guard, you have to have two things to accomplish your goal." He put the bow and arrow down, and then pulled out a long, red cloth and continued, "This cloth here represents an inmate on death row. The end in my right hand represents a firm hand, and the end in my left hand represents a hand for comfort when the time comes for execution. You can't reach your goal without both of them!" Hal put the cloth back into his pocket and picked up the bow and arrow. He aimed the arrow at the top of the wooden flagpole, and shot; the arrow hit just below the very top end! "Now, who wants to show our new recruit how it's done?" Hal asked.  
Percy immediately raised his hand; since he was the state's First Lady's nephew, he always wanted to go first at anything and everything. "I wanna show that wuss who's boss!" he said.  
"Percy, just because you're an important man here at Cold Mountain, that don't mean you get to be first with everything!" Paul said with a stern look.  
"I'll do it!" Brutal offered, "I'll show BJ here what a real man can do!" Little did he know that it had been YEARS since he last proved his worth. Brutal went up to Hal, who gave him the red cloth, and then he went over to the wooden flagpole. Brutal looked up at the top and saw the arrow, thinking he could retrieve it with ease. He wrapped the cloth around the pole and grabbed both ends with his hands, before attempting to climb up; he tried to keep both his feet firm on the pole, but when he was about six inches off the ground, Brutal's foot slipped, and he slid down the pole!

One by one, all the men tried to reach the top of the flagpole, but they had no success; Dean was nearly at the top when his hands started sweating, and he slid down when he tried wiping one of his hands against the cloth; Harry's feet also slipped like Brutal's, but he grabbed the wood with one of his hands, and got splinters; boastful Percy tried using his thighs for assistance, but he barely got two inches off the ground when he fell down; finally, Bobbie-Jo tried climbing the pole, but the cloth kept slipping and sliding from her hands until she fell down on her behind. Hal came up to her and said, "Young man, you have a long way to go." Later, Hal made everyone get out their batons to show BJ what to do, and the warden began to sing:

 _Let's get down to business_  
 _To defeat the Huns_  
 _Did they send me daughters_  
 _When I asked for sons?_

While Hal was demonstrating with Harry, Percy snuck up behind Bobbie-Jo and slipped a caterpillar down the back of her coat, making her yelp; BJ then moved around and swung her baton in the air, while Paul put his palm on his face in humiliation. Eventually, Hal took BJ's hand with a stern look.

 _You're the saddest bunch I ever met_  
 _But you can bet before we're through_  
 _Mister, I'll make a man out of you!_

Next, Paul had his men and "nephew" line up to shoot their pistols at scarecrows, which served as armed and dangerous criminals that may have escaped the prison. Bobbie-Jo tried to shoot one in the head, but she accidentally aimed too low, and hit the scarecrow's groin! After everyone shot, Percy took Bobbie-Jo's scarecrow in front of him, and pretended to be a spooky monster with it, scaring her! Paul then took the scarecrow and gave Percy a glare.

 _Tranquil as a forest_  
 _But on fire within_  
 _Once you find your center_  
 _You are sure to win!_  
 _You're a spineless, pale, pathetic lot_  
 _And you haven't got a clue_  
 _Somehow I'll make a man out of you!_

Throughout the afternoon, the men tried showing Bobbie-Jo different strategies in case any kinds of disasters broke out in the prison. Harry tried to show how to duck under a table in case a window broke, but he found that he was pretty big for the table. Brutal tried showing BJ how to work a fire extinguisher in case of a fire, but the extinguisher was jammed, and Brutal got sprayed in the face by water! Dean tried showing his fighting skills for stopping a dangerous inmate, but he accidentally punched his fist into a wall, and Del laughed at him! Paul privately took his daughter in disguise to give her some fresh water to drink, before she continued training.

 **Harry:** _I'm never gonna catch my breath!_  
 **Brutal:** _Say goodbye to those who knew me!_  
 **Dean:** _Boy was I a fool at school for cutting gym!_  
 **Paul:** _These guys have us scared to death!_  
 **Bobbie-Jo:** _Hope they don't see right through me!_  
 **Harry:** _Now I really wish that I was much more slim!_

Soon, Paul and his men pretended to be inmates in unoccupied cells, and made BJ be the only guard. Percy had some eggs hidden in his sleeve, which he threw at Bobbie-Jo, making her covered in egg yolk! Then, Dean pretended to act like a wild gorilla, banging his cell pillars with his baton, hurting BJ's ears. Poor BJ ran from the scene, while Hal gave a disapproving look from the entryway to the Mile.

 _(To be a man)_  
 _You must be swift as a coursing river_  
 _(To be a man)_  
 _With all the force of a great typhoon_  
 _(To be a man)_  
 _With all the strength of a raging fire_  
 _Mysterious as the dark side of the moon!_

In the late afternoon, Bobbie-Jo was struggling to carry a bunch of books and papers that were stacked into her arms by Hal and Paul; she had to walk all the way from the E Block to Hal's office with those papers. Suddenly, she tripped over in exhaustion and dropped everything. Hal, who had seen what happened, helped the newcomer with a frown and indicated that "he" should leave the penitentiary. But BJ wasn't ready to give up just yet as she looked at the flagpole with the arrow still in it…

 _Time is racing towards us_  
 _Till the Huns arrive_  
 _Heed my every order_  
 _And you might survive_  
 _You're unsuited for the pressure of jail_  
 _So pack up, go home, you're through_  
 _How could I make a man out of you?_

After Hal left, Bobbie Jo took off her tie, and then went over to the flagpole. She placed her tie around the pole, and grabbed both ends with her hands. Bobbie-Jo then moved her tie upward as she firmly planted her feet onto the sides of the pole. With courage and determination, she moved the tie upward and upward, while keeping her feet steady on the pole. Everyone from E Block, including Paul and Hal, watched on with surprised and amazed looks.

 _(To be a man)_  
 _You must be swift as a coursing river_  
 _(To be a man)_  
 _With all the force of a great typhoon_  
 _(To be a man)_  
 _With all the strength of a raging fire_  
 _Mysterious as the dark side of the moon!_

Bobbie-Jo, meanwhile, kept climbing up towards the top with a look of determination. She ignored the beads of sweat on her head and hands, and stayed focus on her goal. Her foot only slipped once, and she managed to take back her footing onto the flagpole as she kept on climbing. Eventually, Bobbie-Jo made it to the top and took the arrow before throwing it to the bottom of the pole and on the ground! All the guards gave big smiles and applauded for her, especially Paul, who was proud that his daughter could prove to him that she had what it took to be strong.

 _(To be a man)_  
 _You must be swift as a coursing river_  
 _(To be a man)_  
 _With all the force of a great typhoon_  
 _(To be a man)_  
 _With all the strength of a raging fire_  
 _Mysterious as the dark side of the moon!_

When she got back down to the ground, Bobbie Jo pointed her pistol at an old scarecrow target, and hit its head! Later, she pounded her baton against a wall with all her might, and then practiced shouting with her manly voice, before finally giving a fighting pose with a yell!

Author's Note: The song "I'll Make a Man Out of You" is from the movie "Mulan" ((c) Disney). Also, pretend that the "Huns" are the inmates.


	8. Chapter 8

That evening, it was time for all the guards to leave the Penitentiary and go back home. As Paul and Bobbie-Jo left, Hal stopped them for a moment and said, "Young man, I must say that you are a fast learner! I'm quite proud of you for now, but you'll still have to work a little harder to earn my trust. I can see that your Uncle Paul seems to trust you already."  
Paul grinned shyly and admitted, "Well, uh, he sure is a good kid. I know he can live up to his family's expectations – and yours!" Bobbie-Jo just smiled as Hal dismissed her and Paul. As the two walked on, Paul looked back at Hal, who had a sad look on his face.

When they arrived home, Bobbie-Jo asked Paul, "Daddy, what's up with the warden? I understand that he's in charge and all, but why's he so… agitated?"  
Paul looked at Bobbie-Jo and said, "Well, for one thing, you just came here to E Block, and he seems a little suspicious about you. Women are discouraged from being prison guards, let alone police officers, and we can't let our little secret slip out. Understand?"  
"Yes," Bobbie-Jo replied.  
"Another thing," Paul continued with a sad expression, "Is that his wife hasn't been feeling well lately. Hal told me she's been having a lot of headaches, and sometimes can't get out of bed." As the father and daughter reached the front door, Bobbie-Jo began to feel sorry for Hal – she figured that his wife may have been in much higher danger than her father.

When Bobbie-Jo opened the door, she was shocked to see her mother looking at her with a glare, and her hands on her hips. "Barbara Josephine, what the hell were you doing this morning?" she asked her daughter.  
Bobbie-Jo looked at her mother with regret and anger, but replied calmly, "Mama, I know you're really mad the way Daddy was when he found me, but you have to believe me. I just wanna help – only until he gets better!"  
"Young lady, you had me worried," Jan said with a calm tone, "I swear that if you ever do anything like that again, I will tan your hide!" She turned to Paul and asked him with a frown, "Paul, why didn't you just bring her home after you found her?"  
Paul looked at his wife with a serious look and said, "Jan, I apologize for not bringing our baby home – but 'he' is now going to be a guard until my bladder heals."  
"He?" Jan asked with a raised brow.  
"Me, BJ," Bobbie-Jo said proudly, but still with some edginess in her voice, "I'm a prison guard now."  
Jan didn't say anything for quite a while, and then she looked at her husband with an unsure look. Paul just nodded and then Jan asked, "Paul, do you really think this is gonna be a good idea to let Bobbie-Jo work there among those men?"  
"Most of my men, yes," Paul answered, "But BJ will have to watch 'himself' among our inmates, and a certain nephew of our state's First Lady."  
"I'll do good, Mama, I promise!" Bobbie-Jo said as she removed her hat and placed it over her heart.  
Jan looked at her daughter with an approving but disappointed look, and then embraced her with a hug. "Very well," she said, "But please be careful. Don't do anything stupid."  
"Oh, you should've seen her today, Jan," Paul assured his wife with a proud smile, "She tackled a hell of lotta training in one day!"  
"Oh, did you?" Jan asked her daughter. Bobbie-Jo just stood tall and proud before everyone went inside to eat supper.

Later that night, Bobbie-Jo had just climbed into bed when a knock came at her door. "Come in," she called.  
Paul walked in, wearing his pajamas and robe, and then told Bobbie-Jo as he walked over to her, "BJ, I just wanted to remind you that we have a new inmate coming in. So be sure to get a good night sleep, nephew."  
Paul chuckled and playfully ruffled Bobbie-Jo's now-short hair, making her laugh and say in her manly voice, "All right, Uncle Paul. I will do that!" She then leaned up to kiss her father on the forehead and whispered in her normal voice, "Good night."  
"Good night, sweet pea," Paul replied, "Pleasant dreams." He then proceeded to leave his daughter's bedroom, and Bobbie-Jo turned her lamp off before settling in a sleeping position to sleep.

 _Later, Bobbie-Jo dreamed that she was in one of the prison cells; her wrists and ankles were bound and tied to both ends of the bed, and she was wearing only her guard pants and a bra. As she groaned and struggled to get free, the poor girl heard some whistling. The tune sounded cheerful, but at the same time, it was somewhat haunting. As the sound grew nearer and nearer, Bobbie-Jo became more and more worried and scared; she knew that someone was going to hurt her. When the door of her cell opened, she looked to see that the whistler was none other than Percy! He gave an evil smirk at her and sneered, "I know something about you, sweetheart. I know that you're really… a gal." Percy then ran his finger up Bobbie-Jo's abdomen and began touching her breast. The poor girl just screamed, "No! It's not what you think! PLEASE!" She let out a horrifying scream just as everything then went blank and she woke up from her nightmare._  
Bobbie-Jo woke up with cold sweat on her body and panted in fear. She then took a deep breath to control herself, and looked around; she then began to fear that sooner or later, Percy or someone else at E Block would find out her secret!


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, Bobbie-Jo and Paul arrived at E Block, both with serious faces and ready to face their new inmate. However, just as they entered the main door, Paul began to feel pain in his lower abdomen. "BJ, would you mind staying on the block while I try to drain myself?" he asked her with pain in his voice.  
Bobbie-Jo looked at him with concern but shook it off and said, "Sure, uncle."  
Just then, a whistle from outside blew, which indicated that the new inmate was arriving at Cold Mountain. Inside the bathroom, Paul had just unzipped his pants when he heard the noise and muttered, "Aw, shit! Couldn't they have waited a few minutes?"  
In the meantime, Dean opened up one of the cells for the new inmate when he and Brutal heard the phone ring. Brutal answered the call by stating, "E Block… Yeah… Right." He then looked at Bobbie-Jo, who was watching out of a window and asked, "BJ, where is your uncle?"  
BJ quickly turned around answered in "his" manly voice, "Uh, he's in the bathroom. He's tryin' to drain his bladder!" BJ then changed the subject by saying, "Um, it looks like we got us a new friend here!" "He" pointed out to Brutal and Dean as they saw a paddy wagon drive into the E Block yard.

In the men's room, poor Paul was having the hardest time trying to urinate; every time he tried to leak, pain would arouse. Soon, a knock came at the door. "Oh, Christ, gimme a minute!" Paul called.  
Outside the restroom, Brutal looked at Dean and Bobbie-Jo with an unsure look. He then called to Paul, "You all right in there?"  
In the men's room, Paul only managed to leak a little bit and muttered, "For a man pissin' razor blades, yeah!"  
Listening to Paul moan and groan in pain made BJ say to Brutal and Dean, "My uncle is real sick, so uh, that's the reason he had me come and help out here at E Block."  
Soon, flushing could be heard, and Paul came out of the restroom while wiping his face with a cloth. Brutal looked at him and said, "You should've took the day off and gone to see the doctor."  
"That's what I keep tellin' him," BJ added, "But you see, he's workin' hard, and uh… I just wanna make sure he's okay!"  
"Well, a new arrival – you know better!" Paul remarked as he finished dabbing sweat from his face, "Besides, it's not as bad as it was. I think it's clearing up." He put his hat on his head while Bobbie-Jo shook her head in disagreement; she knew that things were only going to get worse if her father didn't see medical treatment soon. Hearing the paddy wagon horn outside, Paul then said, "Alright, let's look alive, Dean!"  
"Yes sir," Dean replied with a nod. He and Brutal then went over to the entryway to see the new prisoner, while Paul and Bobbie-Jo walked down the Green Mile a little bit

Brutal looked out the door and saw the paddy wagon pull up, and Percy and Harry stepped out. "Damn," Brutal muttered, "Heavy on the axel!" He noticed that the car's axel was bending, probably because the inmate was so big. Outside, Percy opened up the back of the car, and two officers stepped out. "What'd they do?" Brutal asked from inside E Block, "They bust the springs?" Just then, two dark-skinned feet in shackles stepped down from the back of the wagon onto the ground. "Holy…" Brutal muttered.  
Back outside, Percy and Harry took the large, dark-skinned man by the arms and led him to E Block. "Dead man!" Percy shouted, "Dead man walking! Dead man walking, here!"  
In E Block, Brutal looked at Dean with a surprised and unsure look. "Jesus, please us!" Paul cried, "What is he yelling about?"  
"He's obviously yelling about a dead man walking," Bobbie-Jo answered with a disgusted look on her face; she immediately recognized that voice as Percy's.  
Brutal then looked at Paul and said, "Paul, you might wanna reconsider getting in a cell with this guy. He's enormous!"  
"Can't be bigger than you," Paul answered. Brutal just looked back at Dean, and the two chuckled nervously before heading toward the main door to open it.  
 _I wonder how big this man really is_ , Bobbie-Jo wondered to herself. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Percy keep on shouting, "Dead man! Dead man walking! Dead man walking, here!" Bobbie-Jo looked to see Percy and Harry lead the large man in handcuffs; the new prisoner was also wearing a pair of blue overalls and a worn out white shirt. Everyone else was also in awe when they saw the new arrival walk along with the guards into E Block. "We got a dead man walking, here!" Percy kept yelling as Arlen Bitterbuck and Del watched from their cells, also looking with amazement at the new inmate. "Dead man walking!" Percy continued, "We got a dead man walking, here!"  
"Percy!" Paul said. Percy stopped yelling as Paul finished sternly, "Enough!"  
"Yeah, you loudmouth asswipe!" Bobbie-Jo murmured under her breath.

When everyone stopped, Paul looked at the inmate and said, "Not gonna have any trouble with you, big boy." The man didn't answer as Bobbie-Jo looked at him with a combined look of fear and wonder. "Can you talk?" Paul asked the inmate again.  
The inmate answered quietly, "Yes sir, boss, I can talk."  
Paul walked into the open cell so that he could converse with the new inmate; Bobbie-Jo remained off to the side as the large man looked at Paul. Percy pounded the inmate in the abdomen with his baton and ordered, "Move your ass! Let's go. Come on!"  
The inmate did as he was told, while Bobbie-Jo looked at Percy with an annoyed frown. When the prisoner came into the cell, Paul told Percy, "Percy, they're movin' house down in the infirmary. Why don't you go see if they can use some help?"  
 _Good idea_ , Bobbie-Jo thought, _that way I don't see his face for a while!_  
"Uh, they got all the men they need," Percy told Paul.  
"Why don't you just go and make sure?" Paul suggested with a little bit of impatience in his voice.  
"Uh-uh."  
"I don't care where you go, Percy," Paul said with his tone becoming stern, "Just as long as it's not here this very moment."  
Bobbie-Jo wanted to yell out, "Yeah, Percy! Get outta here!" But she knew better to keep her mouth shut.  
Percy scoffed and said to Paul, "Alright." He then turned around, only to bump into Brutal, who frowned at him. As Percy walked on, he passed by Del, who was holding onto a couple of his cell bars and grinning at the guard. Percy took out his baton and whacked Del's fingers with it, making him cry out in pain.  
Del got on his knees and whimpered, "You bust my fingers!"  
"I wiped that grin off your shit-poked face, didn't I?" Percy told the Cajun inmate.  
"God dammit, Percy, get the hell off my block!" Paul shouted.  
Percy looked back and saw Paul glaring at him. The younger guard nodded, "Uh-huh." Percy continued on his way while Arlen Bitterbuck looked at him with disgust.

In his cell, Del was still wincing in pain at his injured fingers. "You're gonna get that looked at, Del," Paul called, "In the meantime, you just stay quiet."  
"It'll be okay," Bobbie-Jo added.  
"Yes," Del whimpered as he tried to shake away the pain from his fingers.  
Inside the new prisoner's cell, Paul looked at the inmate and asked, "If I here and take these chains off you, you gonna be nice?" The inmate gave a nod while Harry undid his cuffs and shackles after giving Paul a clipboard with notes about the new prisoner. Paul looked at the notes and inquired the inmate, "Your name is John Coffey?"  
"Yes sir, officer," John answered, "Like the drink, only not spelled the same."  
"Oh, you can spell, can you?" Paul inquired.  
"Just my name, boss," John admitted, "K-O…"  
"My name is Paul Edgecomb," Paul told John, "If I'm not here, you can ask for Mr. Terwilliger, Mr. Howell, or Mr. Stanton, these men right there. Or you may also ask my nephew, BJ, who's off to the side by the wall out there." He pointed out to Harry, Brutal, and Dean, who were all near the cell, and BJ, who was still standing by the wall with a nervous but understanding look. "Questions?" Paul asked John.  
"Do you leave the light on after bedtime?" John asked, "Cause I get a little scared of the dark sometimes… if it's a strange place."  
Paul gave an uneasy look to his colleagues and then answered, "It stays pretty bright, you know, all night long. We always keep a few lights bright on the corridor."  
"The c-corridor?" John questioned.  
Paul motioned with his eyes and said, "Right out there." John looked out towards the Mile to see all the ceiling lights on; Bobbie-Jo did the same and wondered about them a little bit. Then, John turned back and held out his hand to Paul. Paul hesitated for a moment, and then put his hand into John's. John shook the guard's hand, and then Paul nodded as he let go and walked out of the cell. "You can sit," he told John.  
Bobbie-Jo gave the inmate an assuring look. John sat down on his bench while Harry shut the cell door and locked it. Paul then looked at John as the prisoner said sadly, "I couldn't help it, boss. I tried to take it back, but it was too late." Paul gave one last glance, and then motioned for Bobbie-Jo to come with him.


	10. Chapter 10

As Paul walked with Bobbie-Jo along the Mile, the other guards followed them and Paul said, "Dean, pull Delacroix's card, take him to the infirmary, see if those fingers are broken."  
"Yes sir," Dean replied.  
 _That poor man had to have broken fingers if he were in that much pain,_ Bobbie-Jo thought to herself.  
"Of course they're broken," Brutal stated as everyone went into an office, "I heard the damn bones crack!"  
Harry mumbled about Percy yelling and Paul replied, "How could I miss it, Harry? The whole prison heard." Bobbie-Jo nodded in agreement as she and her father each took a seat.  
"Goddamn Percy," Brutal cursed as he also took a seat, "Probably have to answer a signal off the mile."  
Paul muttered, "I'll chew my food if I have to." He changed the subject as he said, "Alright, now I wanna hear about this new inmate – aside from how big he is, okay?"  
Brutal gave a funny expression and chuckled, "Monstrous big."  
Bobbie-Jo decided to play along and added, "Bigger than King Kong!"  
"BJ, this isn't a game," Paul reminded his "nephew." BJ immediately turned serious.  
"Oh, he seems big enough!" Dean said as he was sorting through some files, "Is he retarded, you figure?"  
"Mmm-hmmm," Paul replied as he picked up a clipboard, "Looks like they sent us an imbecile to execute."  
Bobbie-Jo rolled her eyes in annoyance; she didn't like listening to people, especially her own father, use slurs for stupid people.  
"Imbecile or not," Harry stated to Paul, "He deserves to fry for what he done." He handed Paul a folder and said, "Read the book, colonel."  
Bobbie-Jo gave her father a nervous look, because she knew there was something in that folder that was awful.

Later on, Paul and Bobbie-Jo were sitting on some bleachers outside. Paul had opened up the folder – John Coffey's case file, and read the case while his daughter watched with amazed eyes.  
 _We are then given a scene that took place many days earlier in a rural part of Louisiana. On a farm, a woman could be heard screaming in terror. The farmer fled his barn to check on the source of the scream and hurried inside his house. "What?" he cried out, "For God's sake, what?"_  
 _"The girls!" his wife cried, "The girls are gone!"_  
 _These people were the parents of the two little girls John was convicted of raping and killing; they ran towards the back door where their son pointed to something and cried, "Look! Look, there's blood!" Sure enough, there was some splattered blood upon the floor._  
 _"Oh my god!" The father gasped as he saw a blood trail leaving his porch._  
 _Moments later, the father and son were loading guns as the father cried out, "Goddammit, woman, get on that phone now! Tell them we had a mess! Man's sake – we had a mess!"_  
 _The mother hurried to the phone and turned the dial. "Central? Are you on the line?" she asked with terror, "Oh god, please! Somebody took my little girls!"_  
 _In the meantime, the father and son ran out of the house with their guns in their hands._

 _Later on, there was a search party for the two little girls. In a field, the father desperately called out, "KATIE! CORA!" When there was no response, the party hastily kept on running, searching for any clues as to what happened._  
 _After what seemed like a long time, the father of the two missing girls found a bloodied rag doll lying on the banks of a creek. Then, everyone in the search party heard some far-off screaming and crying. They all looked forward and noticed a familiar large, black man cradling two small bodies in his arms. John was sitting behind a giant log with blood all over his clothing, and he was crying over the bodies of the two missing girls._  
 _The search party immediately ran over to John, and most of the men pointed their guns at him. The girls' father ran up to John and repeatedly punched him in the face until two other men pulled him away as he cursed and yelled at John. The son called for his father, and the two shared a hug of heartbreak over the dead little girls._  
 _John, meanwhile, kept crying and panting over the two bloody corpses and finally said to the sheriff, "I couldn't help it. I tried to take it back, but it was too late!"_  
 _Showing no sympathy, the sheriff pointed his gun at John and said, "Boy, you're under arrest for murder!" He spat in John's face as the scene closed._

Back at the prison yard, Paul and Bobbie-Jo were still looking over the case file when a voice asked, "May I interrupt?"  
The father and daughter in disguise looked to see that Hal was watching them. "Oh, Mr. Moores," Bobbie-Jo said, "My, uh, uncle and I didn't see you!"  
"I'm just about done," Paul told Hal as he finished up with the case file. Hal went to the bleachers and took a seat beside Paul. "Hey, how's that pretty gal of yours?" Paul asked the warden.  
"Melinda's not so well, Paul," Hal answered, "Not so well at all."  
Bobbie-Jo remembered what her father told her about the warden's wife and shook her head with sympathy. "I'm sorry, sir," she said.  
"More headaches?" Paul asked.  
Hal nodded and stated, "Got laid up with another one yesterday. Worst one yet; I'll be taking her over to Vicksburg the next day for tests. Headaches are raising, who knows what else? She is scared to death." He then held his head up, wanting to change the subject, but added, "First to tell so many."  
"But there's something they can see on the x-ray?" Paul asked before stating, "Maybe it's something they can fix?"  
"Maybe," Hal repeated as he pulled some paper out from his jacket. Bobbie-Jo wondered what he was going to do next. He showed the paper to Paul and said, "This just came in – the DOE for Arlen Bitterbuck."  
BJ then remembered about the inmate Arlen Bitterbuck, who was going to be executed soon.

Paul, meanwhile, looked at the paper and then looked at Paul, asking, "You didn't come all the way here just to hand me a DOE?"  
Hal changed the subject and stated, "I had angry call from the State Capitol about twenty minutes ago. Is it true you ordered Percy Wetmore off the block?"  
"It is," Paul said, remembering how he had made Percy leave the block when John arrived.  
"Well, I'm sure you have reason, Paul," Hal continued, "But like it or not, the wife of the governor of this state only has one nephew, and his name happens to be Percy Wetmore."  
Paul shook his head with understanding while Bobbie-Jo looked away from her father with disgust. It was perfectly clear that she wasn't very happy working with a spoiled brat like Percy.  
"Little Percy calls his aunt and squeals like a schoolroom sissy," Paul muttered to the warden, "He also mentioned he assaulted a prisoner this morning at sheer impeachments? Broke three fingers of Eduard Delacroix's left hand?"  
Hal shook his head and said, "I didn't hear that part. I'm sure she didn't add that."  
"That man is mean, and careless, and stupid – that's a bad combination in a place like this. Sooner or later, he's gonna get somebody hurt or worse!"  
"I agree," said BJ with a frown, "He's basically a spoiled brat who never grew up!"  
"Hey, mind your tongue, boy," Paul reprimanded his "nephew."  
"Stick with me, Paul," Hal said, "It may not be much longer. I have it on good authority that Percy has an application for Briar Ridge."  
Paul's face lit up. "Briar Ridge?" he asked, "The mental hospital?"  
"Administration job," Hal added, "Better pay."  
 _Good,_ Bobbie-Jo thought to herself with a smirk.  
"Hmmm. Then why is he still here?" Paul asked the warden.  
"Yeah," added Bobbie-Jo, "Why?"  
Hal just looked away as Paul asked, "He didn't get that application, did he?" Bobbie-Jo made a disappointed frown. "Hell, with his connections, he can have any state job he wants," Paul added.

Bobbie-Jo rolled her eyes and said, "I dunno. I think he wants something else before he makes a decision. What do you think, Uncle Paul?"  
"You know what I think?" Paul asked the warden and BJ, "I think he just wants to see one cook up close."  
Bobbie-Jo gave her father a puzzled look while Hal looked on and saw Arlen Bitterbuck walking around while smoking a cigarette as a guard watched him. "Well, he'll get his chance, then," Hal told Paul, "Won't he? Maybe then he'd be satisfied and move on?"  
"I hope so," Bobbie-Jo said softly.  
"In the meantime," Hal told Paul, "You'll keep the peace."  
"Of course," said Paul, "Of course."  
Hal gave a small smile as he started to get back on his feet. "Thank you, Paul," he said. He turned to BJ and told him, "And thank you, young man for helping your uncle out."  
As Hal walked away, Bobbie-Jo smiled, and Paul called out, "Hal! You give Melinda my love, okay?" He shook his head and said hopefully, "I'm sure that x-ray'll turn out to be nothing at all."  
"Good luck," Hal smiled before walking away.  
"I hope she gets well soon, too," Bobbie-Jo said with a small smile.  
Paul then turned his attention back to John Coffey's case file. He looked at the death warrant paper and studied it closely; the execution was set for July 10, and the location was none other than Cold Mountain State Penitentiary.


	11. Chapter 11

That evening, Paul was sitting at the dining room table, listening to the radio and drinking some milk. Just then, Jan came downstairs while Bobbie-Jo watched from the top of the stairs. When her mother reached the kitchen where Paul was sitting, Bobbie-Jo slowly and quietly went downstairs to eavesdrop; she knew it was wrong, but it was an old habit that proved to be exceedingly hard to break.  
When Paul saw his wife, he asked her, "Is the music too loud?"  
Jan shook her head and answered, "There's just a big end of the bed where my husband usually sleeps."  
Paul looked at his wife and stated, "I said that was I was having a little trouble tonight."  
Jan walked over to her husband and wondered, "Ever wonder about Melinda and Hal? Is that what's got you?"  
"Yeah," Paul mumbled, "Bad headaches."  
From the bottom of the staircase, Bobbie-Jo listened silently; her expression became sad when she remembered the warden talking about how he was going to take his wife to get x-rays.  
"Headaches?" Jan repeated as she held her husband close.  
"Yeah, and a new inmate today," Paul added, remembering John Coffey, "Simple-minded fella. I think BJ was a little scared of him, but she seems to be taking on this prison guard duty rather calmly."  
"That's good to hear," his wife replied.  
Back at the staircase, Bobbie-Jo gave a small smile, knowing that her father was proud of her for making a difference.  
"Well, I wanna know what he did," Jan continued, "The inmate, I mean."  
"Cruel things are happening in this world," Paul told his wife softly as he shook his head, "It's only God's laws."  
Jan kissed Paul on the forehead and said, "Why don't you come back in? I think I have something to help you sleep. You can have all you want."  
As his wife held him close, Paul mumbled, "There's something wrong with my waterworks." Those words made Bobbie-Jo's stomach tie in knots, remembering that her father was still sick with a bladder infection. "I wouldn't pass it onto you," Paul told his wife.

Listening to her father talk about his infection made Bobbie-Jo nervous, so she tried biting her lip to prevent from overreacting. "Have you seen doctors of yet?" Jan asked Paul.  
"No," Paul answered.  
 _Well you should,_ Bobbie-Jo thought to herself.  
"Why?" Jan asked her husband softly.  
"Because he's just gonna want to make me take social tablets for the rest of my life, puking in every corner of my office, whenever I'm by myself, and puking's not gonna help much sooner," Paul answered.  
Knowing that this would be bad for her father, Bobbie-Jo decided to go back upstairs as quiet as a mouse, and went back into her bedroom. She closed the door and then crawled back into her bed. Before going to sleep, Bobbie-Jo looked at her window and prayed, "Please, God, if you have any miracles left, I want you to send one down for me and help my father. And maybe you could help me out by letting me know that there's nothing to be scared of, and nobody for me to hold a grudge against. All I want is for things to go right, and I just wanna grow up to be a brave woman – not like the scared and whiny little girl I am. Please and thank you. Amen." She then turned herself away from the window and closed her eyes, ready to get some sleep for another day on E Block.


	12. Chapter 12

The next evening, Paul, Dean, and Bobbie-Jo were all working in the execution room where "Old Sparky" the electric chair was housed. The two real men shined up the chair's arms and back while the girl-turned man dusted a few things with a rag. Just then, they all heard someone laughing – Brutal, to be exact. "Paul! Dean! BJ!" Brutal's voice called.  
The three of them exited the room and went over to where Brutal was. "Yeah?" Paul said.  
"What is it?" asked BJ.  
Brutal just grinned and motioned for his coworkers to come to him. "I guess the legislature raises those prices so they hired a new guard," Brutal said.  
"Well, what's going on?" BJ asked softly as she and her coworkers looked forward. They stared at the door which led to the solitary confinement room.  
Dean and Paul exchanged confused looks before looking at Brutal, who then pointed to the door and said, "Look in! There!"  
Sure enough, a little brown mouse was scurrying out from under the door and along the mile. Bobbie-Jo gasped a little, but quickly put her hand over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming like a little girl. "A mouse!" she whispered, "What's it doing here?"  
"It ain't normal for a mouse to come up on people this way," Dean said, "It might be it's ready?"  
Paul and Brutal muttered to each other until Brutal stated, "Well, a big mouse expert. A mouse man. What do you see its mouth, Mr. Mouse Man?"  
"I don't see its mouth at all!" Dean stated.  
Brutal and BJ both chuckled.

As the mouse came closer and closer to the four humans, Brutal turned around, went over to a desk, and picked up a cookie. "Oh, Brutal, no!" said Dean, "We're not keeping mice around here!"  
"I just wanna see what it'll do," Brutal said as he began breaking a piece of the cookie, "It's interesting science life." He knelt down with a smile and tossed a piece of the cookie onto the floor. The mouse immediately took notice and went over to nibble the crumb while Arlen Bitterbuck watched from his cell.  
Bobbie-Jo couldn't help but smile at the little rodent hastily nibbling away. When it finished eating, the mouse squeaked and then scurried off down the mile, making its way back to the solitary room.  
As the mouse slid under the door, Dean slapped his hand on his hip and said, "He's in the damn restraining room! And you just know he's chewing the padding out of the walls, making himself a nice, little nest!"  
After a short moment of silence, Paul said, "All right. Let's go get the damn mouse." So he, BJ, Brutal, and Dean all walked down to the restraining room door.

When they reached the door, Brutal was carrying a mop to shoo the mouse away, and then removed the keys from his belt to give to Paul. John Coffey was watching them, so he softly said, "Boss? Saw me a mouse go by."  
"You know what?" said Bobbie-Jo with a smirk, "We all did."  
"We can't get anything other than you," Paul smiled as he unlocked the padlock that held the restraining room door shut. When he opened the door, he turned on the light, and we are given a messy room that had clutters and stacks of drawers, chairs, and many other things.  
"How are we gonna find that thing in this big mess?" BJ asked softly.  
The scene cuts away to another part when the guards had moved everything out of the restraining room, and furniture was cluttering up the mile. When the room was empty, Paul and the other guards slowly went inside to try and find the mouse. "I don't see it in here," Bobbie-Jo whispered, "Didn't we all see that little guy scurry into this room?"  
Paul looked at Dean and remarked, "You let him get past you."  
"No, I did not," Dean insisted, "I've been here all the time."  
"Well, where the hell is he?" Brutal asked.  
"I dunno."  
"Four grown men outsmarted by a mouse!" Brutal remarked with disappointment.  
Dean sighed and said, "Well, the bright side is, all this commotion probably scared him off for good."  
Paul chuckled and said, "Yeah, yeah, that's the last we'll see of him!"  
Bobbie-Jo, on the other hand, decided to step out and made her way past the clutter in the mile. She looked around and wondered, "Where did he wander off to?"


	13. Chapter 13

The next afternoon, Harry, Percy, and an overweight guard were at the main end of the mile finishing their lunch break. Harry and the other guard, Bill Dodge, were looking over some papers while Percy was combing his chestnut brown hair at a mirror and whistling some melody.  
Unknown to them, a familiar brown mouse was sitting on the mile, grooming itself. When it finished, it decided to scurry towards the desk where Harry and Bill were seated at; Del watched with amazement. The mouse stopped to scratch its nose; it was a couple of feet away from where Percy was standing, still fixated on vainly keeping a neat image. As he heard something softly moving, Percy stopped whistling and combing his hair as he slowly turned his head and saw the mouse. "You little son of a bitch," he said softly.  
Harry and Bill heard him, and then turned their attention to the mouse on the green floor. "Well, I'll be damned!" said Harry, "Biggest billy-be-frigged! I thought Brutal was pulling my leg."  
"That's a goddamn mouse," said Bill.  
"Yeah," said Harry, "Brutal says he was in here last night, begging for food. He came on right up to the desk."  
Percy, meanwhile, turned his head to think about something as he set his comb back by the mirror; he touched his baton in his belt.  
"Give him some running, Percy, and see what he does," Bill said.  
Percy nodded, not really thinking about watching the mouse's tricks. He slowly stepped back as the mouse approached the main desk, and Harry removed his glasses to see the mouse.  
The mouse looked up at the desk as Harry commented, "He's a brave little bastard, gotta give him that." He broke off a piece of a cracker and tossed it onto the floor. The mouse bravely scurried over and began nibbling at the crumb.

Percy looked down at the mouse as he slowly pulled his baton out from his belt. Bill, meanwhile, tossed another crumb onto the floor for the mouse to eat. As the mouse went to go get another crumb, Percy yelled and threw his baton at the mouse, scaring Harry, Bill and the inmates! He picked up a wastebasket and chased the mouse around while cursing at the top of his lungs.  
Harry got up from his chair and yelled, "Percy, are you crazy, you little son of a bitch?"  
Percy ignored him as he threw the wastebasket down on the ground; the mouse just scurried this way and that way, not knowing where to go. The young man chased after the mouse while calling it nasty names; eventually, the mouse scurried underneath the door to the restraining room.  
Percy banged on the door as Harry called out, "Are you listening to me? **PERCY!** "  
Still, Percy ignored him and roared as he unlocked the padlock, "I'm gonna rip your diseased head off, you little piece of shit!"

Outside, Paul, Brutal, and Bobbie-Jo were walking down some stairs when they heard banging and yelling coming from E Block. "What do you suppose is going on?" Bobbie-Jo in her manly voice.  
"We'd better find out!" Paul answered as he, Brutal, and BJ ran down the stairs and through an open gate back to E Block. They dropped their lunchboxes, pulled out their batons, and ran as fast as they could to E Block's main entryway while some inmates watched.  
When Brutal opened the door, he, Paul, and BJ entered and were greeted by Harry telling them, "Percy met your mouse."  
Paul and Bobbie-Jo looked to see Percy throw some things out of the solitary confinement room with his face beaded with sweat and his hair messy. "He's in there somewhere," Percy called out, "I'm gonna SQUISH the little son of a bitch!"  
"No!" Bobbi-Jo yelled.  
"Percy, we already tried that!" Brutal added.  
Percy stopped throwing things as he looked at Brutal and asked, "Huh? What did you say?"  
"I said that we…" Brutal began; his sentence was cut off when Paul looked at him sternly, thought about what to say, but didn't say anything. "Knock yourself out," Brutal told Percy, "Hope you nail the bastard!"  
"Oh yeah!" Percy nodded breathlessly.

A few minutes later, Percy had his jacket off and had just finished moving stuff out of the restraining room. The guards came up to him with disappointed looks and Brutal said, "Don't see him in there, huh? So that beats the mousey band!"  
"Percy, you wanna think about what you were doing just now?" Paul asked; Bobbie-Jo stood close to him with a glare on her face.  
"I was trying to get the mouse!" Percy answered with a snarky tone, "Are you blind?"  
"You also scared the living crap out of me and Bill," Harry added with a frown, "Not to mention the inmates."  
"Yeah," Bobbie-Jo muttered under her breath, "I thought something bad was going on in there."  
"So what?" Percy remarked, "They aren't in cradle school, in case you didn't notice! Although you treat them that way half the time."  
"We don't scare anyone unless we have to, Percy," Brutal said, "They're under enough strain as this."  
"Men under strain can snap, hurt themselves, and hurt others," Paul said firmly, "That's why our job is… talking, not yelling. You had better think of this place like an intensive care ward at a hospital."  
Bobbie-Jo nodded in agreement and thought to herself, _Yeah. The sooner you go to Briar Ridge, the better._  
"I think of it as a bucket of piss to drown rats in, that's all," Percy stated, "Anybody who doesn't like it, hmmm, can kiss my ass!" Brutal came forward and grabbed Percy by his shirt collar, pinning him to the wall. "Don't you try and go on! Try and you'll be on the breadlines before the week is out!"  
"Okay, Brutal," Paul assured his friend. Brutal let go of Percy and walked away.

Paul and Bobbie-Jo came over to Percy as the younger man straightened his hair out; the girl disguised as a boy glared at Percy and exhaled deeply through her nostrils as Paul said, "We all know who your connections are, Percy. You ever threaten a man on this block again, we are gonna have a go – you'll be damned."  
"You done?" Percy asked calmly but impatiently.  
Paul nodded and then ordered, "Get all this shit back in the restraining room – you are cluttering up my mile." He and the other guards turned and walked away.  
Bobbie-Jo covered up her right hand with her shirt sleeve and held up a finger. "Guess which finger," she told Percy with a glare.  
"I know which one it is," Percy replied with a frown, "And if you show it to me, then you can eat my shit!"  
Bobbie-Jo didn't say anything; instead she turned around and muttered to herself, "I hope he guessed the one that means 'fuck you!'"


	14. Chapter 14

Later that afternoon, Arlen Bitterbuck was sitting in his cell when Paul came up and said, "Arlen, your daughter and family are here."  
A few minutes later, a couple of guards took Bitterbuck to say his goodbyes to his loved ones; the next day would be his last day alive. Paul turned to Brutal and said, "Let's move on. I want these two rehearsals done before he gets back."  
Brutal nodded and then walked away.

A few minutes later, the janitor known only as Toot-Toot went into Arlen Bitterbuck's cell, pretending to be the inmate on death row. "Alright, sittin' down, sittin' down!" he said as he sat down on the bed, "Rehearsing now, everybody settle!"  
"Arlen Bitterbuck, step forward," Paul instructed.  
"Steppin' forward, steppin' forward," Toot said as he got up from the bed and walked out of the cell, "Steppin' forward!"  
"Is his head properly shaved?" Paul asked Dean.  
Dean looked at Toot's hair and said, "Nope, it's all dandruff and it smells!"  
"I'd take that as a yes," Paul said, "Let's go." He and Dean led Toot to walk down the mile towards the main entryway.  
"Walking the mile, walking the mile!" Toot said as he walked with the two guards. He repeated that phrase until they reached an office where he then said, "I'm getting' to my knees. I'm prayin', prayin'! The Lord is my shepherd, so forth and so on. I'm sorry for all the bad shit I've done, and people I've tramped on, and everything. And I hope they forgive me, and I'll never do it again, that's for sure!"  
While Toot kept babbling on, Harry asked Paul, "Paul, we're not gonna have some Cherokee medicine man in here whooping and hollering and shaking his dick, are we?"  
Paul started to say, "Well, actually…"  
"Still prayin!" Toot announced, "Still prayin'! Gettin' right with Jesus!"  
"Do it quietly, you old gink!" Harry corrected the janitor with a slap on the back of the head.  
"As I was saying," Paul continued, "I don't believe they actually shake their dicks, Harry. Be that as it may, Mr. Bitterbuck is a Christian, so I have the Reverend Schuster."  
"Yeah, he's good," added Dean, "He's fast, too. Just get him all worked up."  
"On your feet!" Paul ordered; he, Dean, and Harry knelt down to help Toot get back onto his feet. "Come on, Toot!" Paul said, "You've prayed enough for one day!"  
"To my feet!" Toot said as he left the room with the guards, "Walking the mile, walking the mile! Walking the mile, walking the Green Mile!" He kept on babbling when they reached the execution room, where Brutal, Percy, and Bobbie-Jo were waiting.

In the execution room, Paul, Dean and Harry led Toot to "Old Sparky," and the janitor blurted out, "Sittin' down, now! Sittin' down! Taking a seat in Old Sparky!"  
As Toot sat in the chair, Percy looked at Paul with an uneasy look and asked, "What do I do?"  
"Watch and learn," Paul answered with a serious tone.  
"Watch and learn!" Toot repeated.  
"BJ, why don't you go back with Percy?" Paul asked his "nephew."  
BJ just silently mouthed, "I don't want to."  
Paul just motioned for her to go back, and she exhaled through her nostrils. "C'mon, BJ," Percy called to her, "You get to watch with me!"  
Bobbie-Jo reluctantly walked behind Percy to a covered area where another man, Mr. Van Hayes, was in charge of the switches.  
"Getting' strapped!" Toot called out as he was being strapped into the electric chair, "Getting' clamped, getting' wired! All right! Getting' all electro'd!"  
When Toot was all strapped in, the guards stepped away from the chair and Brutal called out, "Roll on one!"  
Behind the screen, Van Hayes told Percy and Bobbie-Jo, "Roll on one means they turn the generator up full. You see the lights go bright in half the prison."  
Outside, Brutal looked at Toot and said, "Arlen Bitterbuck, you've been condemned to die by a jury of your peers, sentence implored by a judge of good standard in this state. Do you have anything to say before your sentence is carried out?"  
Toot's face shot up as he answered, "Yeah! I wanna fried chicken dinner with gravy on the taters, and I wanna shit in your hat! I got to have Mae West sit on my face, cause I'm one horny mother fucker!" He laughed at the last word, and then everyone else (with the exception of Paul) burst into a fit of laughter!  
"Be quiet!" Paul shouted, "Be quiet! Shut up! SHUT UP!"  
"Sorry, boss!" Van Hayes said from behind the screen. Bobbie-Jo immediately put her hand over her mouth when she heard her father shout.  
"Toot, one more remark like that, I'll have Van Hayes rolled onto you for real!" Paul told the janitor, "And I'll have one less crazy trustee in the world!"  
"It was pretty funny," Brutal told Paul as he held back a grin.  
"That's why I don't like it," Paul said, "We'll be doing this for real tomorrow night! I don't want anybody remembering some stupid joke like that and getting going again! You ever try not to laugh in church when something funny gets stuck in your head? It's the same goddamn thing!"  
"I'm sorry, Paul, you're right," Brutal said, "Just keep going, then."  
 _I know what you mean,_ Bobbie-Jo thought to herself as she remembered something from her childhood…

 **Flashback: Easter Sunday, 1928**  
 _Bobbie-Jo was 10 years old, and was at church with her parents and older brother. She was dressed in a pink, red and white dress, white stockings, a silver necklace with a pink charm, and black shoes; her hair was done in two braids, and she had a pink headband._  
 _It was the Easter service, and Bobbie-Jo was promised a special basket if she behaved. Throughout most of the sermon, the young girl sat quietly, prayed, and sang along when asked to. But there was also a very difficult part – during the previous week at school, the young girl had witnessed a classmate play a prank on the teacher involving frogs, worms, and slugs in the teaching desk. When the teacher opened her desk, she screamed and swore like a sailor when she saw the animals run out; all the students, including Bobbie-Jo, laughed and laughed._  
 _That thought came into her head, and she couldn't help but make a snorting sound with her nose, trying to hold back laughter. Everyone in the congregation turned to see her smiling and trying to hold back giggles. Paul and Jan both frowned at their daughter and each gave her a slap on the back of her head, making her come to senses. Realizing the pain from each slap, Bobbie-Jo looked up towards the alter with moist eyes, and then the scene was interrupted by the sound of someone else screaming._  
 **End of Flashback**

Bobbie-Jo came back to reality as she heard the sound of Toot-Toot pretending to scream in pain, "I'm frying! I'm frying! Oh! I'm a doggone turkey!"  
Back in the main part of the room, Paul shook his head with disbelief and Brutal just smiled.  
"This is a shocking experience!" Toot cried out, feigning pain.  
As the janitor continued to play along, Brutal saw something and said softly to Paul, "One of the witnesses showed up a day early!"  
Paul turned his head and saw a familiar brown mouse scurrying about on the top of one of the doors. He decided to ignore the mouse and said, "All right, let's do it again! Let's get it right this time. Get that idiot out of the chair!" Everyone agreed, and decided to rehearse the execution again. (Without any help from Toot)


	15. Chapter 15

The next day, everyone moved the furniture out of the execution room, swept the floor, and set up chairs for the witnesses of Arlen Bitterbuck's execution. By the time the evening rolled around, people began showing up to sit down in the chairs and watch the Native American inmate die.  
Over at E Block, Dean was shaving Bitterbuck's head so that the wet sponge would help electricity go faster to his brain. Paul looked at Bitterbuck as Dean finished shaving, and then the inmate felt the bald spot on his head before he asked Paul, "Do you believe that if a man repents enough for what he done wrong, then he'll get to go back to the time that was happiest for him and live there forever? Could that be what Heaven's like?"  
"I just about believe that very thing," Paul answered.  
"I had a young wife when I was eighteen," Bitterbuck said as he thought of a happy time in his life, "We spent our first summer in the mountains and made love every night, and she'd lay there – bare-breasted in the fire light. After that, we would talk sometimes till the sun came up… that was my best time."  
Just then, Brutal came up with a pocket watch, indicating that Paul and Bitterbuck should move along. Paul nodded and then looked at Bitterbuck, who exhaled deeply through his nostrils, ready for his fate. "It'll be fine," Paul assured, "You'll do fine."

Several minutes later, everyone was gathered in the execution room; Arlen Bitterbuck was seated in the electric chair with a black hood over his face so that he may die in darkness. Brutal got a sponge wet from a pail of water, squeezed some of the water out, and then placed the wet sponge onto Bitterbuck's bald spot. Harry placed a generator on top of the inmate's head and Brutal made sure it was tied on tightly; Bitterbuck breathed heavily.  
When all was said and done, Brutal announced, "Arlen Bitterbuck, electricity shall now be passed through your body until you are dead, in accordance with state law, and may God have mercy on your soul."  
Bitterbuck breathed heavier and heavier through his nose as the seconds ticked by. Soon, the second hand reached the twelve at ten o'clock, and Brutal ordered, "Roll on two!"  
From behind the screen, Mr. Van Hayes pulled the switch, and the electric chair was set electrocuting Bitterbuck; Bobbie-Jo watched alongside Percy (much to her annoyance) behind the screen as the inmate cringed in pain from the electricity.  
Outside the screen, the other guards, Hal, and the witnesses watched on as Bitterbuck's brain fried for several seconds before Van Hayes turned off the chair.  
A physician came over to check and see if Bitterbuck still had a heartrate. After listening to his chest, the physician shook his head, indicating that the inmate was still alive. "Again," Brutal commanded the switch operator. The switch was pulled again, and Arlen endured more electrocution.

Many minutes later, Bitterbuck's body was lying on a gurney in a room below the prison. Percy patted the dead man's cheek with his hand and commented, "Adios, chief! Drop us a card from Hell, let us know if it's hot enough!"  
Seeing Percy make fun of a corpse made Brutal angry; he grabbed Percy by the arm and pushed him away from the body, saying, "He's paid what he's owed. He's square with the house again, so keep your goddamn hands off him!" Brutal pushed Percy back as he let go. He then covered Bitterbuck's body with a sheet and pushed the gurney into a tunnel for burial.  
Bobbie-Jo and Paul each gave Percy a glare before watching Brutal push the gurney. The young man asked, "What's up his ass?"  
Paul answered sternly, "You. Always you, Percy."  
Bobbie-Jo nodded in agreement.  
"What? I got a hate in you, boy?" Percy asked as Paul approached him, "That's the way it is around here?"  
"Why don't you just move on and take that job down in Briar Ridge?" Paul asked, "Oh yeah – I know all about it. Sounds to me like a pretty good job."  
"I agree," Bobbie-Jo said softly with a nod.  
"Yeah, I might just take it, too," Percy answered, "As soon as you put me up front." Bobbie-Jo and Paul looked at him as Percy continued, "Yeah, you heard me. I want Brutal's spot for the next execution."  
Paul shook his head and walked a little bit before saying, "Seeing a man die – now that's not enough. You gotta be close enough to smell his nuts cook."  
"I just wanna be up front, that's all," said Percy as he came towards Paul, "Come on, one time. And you know what – you can get rid of me, I swear."  
"And what if I say no?" Paul asked.  
"Well, I might just stick around for good," Percy answered as he looked at the ground before going back to Paul, "Might make a career of this… boss."  
Paul just shook his head before he took Bobbie-Jo, and the two of them went upstairs together.


	16. Chapter 16

The next day, Paul was sitting at his desk listening to the radio and writing some papers. Bobbie-Jo was walking along the mile when she saw John Coffey lying on his bed, crying quietly. She was about to go over to his cell and ask him what was wrong when she heard Del giggling. John stopped crying while Bobbie-Jo turned around and looked at Del's cell. When she looked in, she gasped with surprise, and then walked quickly over to her father. "Pssst! Dad, turn the music off!" Bobbie-Jo whispered when she reached Paul's desk, "You gotta see what Del's up to!"  
Paul looked at his daughter, and also heard Del laughing; he also heard a squeak, and then moved to turn the radio off.

Moments later, Paul and Bobbie-Jo opened the door to an office where Brutal and Dean were having lunch. "You guys gotta see this!" Bobbie-Jo said with excitement.  
"You are not gonna believe this!" added Paul. He and Bobbie-Jo left the door, and then Dean and Brutal followed them back to E Block.  
When they all came back, the guards went to Del's cell, where the Cajun inmate was happily laughing with a familiar mouse on his shoulder. "Look!" Del chuckled, "I, I done tamed that mouse!"  
"Why do you say that?" Paul asked.  
"Oh, watch this!" Del said, "Watch what he do!" He picked up the mouse with his right hand, and then bent over with both arms up behind his back; the mouse scurried along his arms as Del laughed, "Ain't he something, now? He's smart, Mr. Jingles!"  
"Mr. Jingles?" Paul repeated with a puzzled look.  
"That's his name," Del answered, "He whispered in my ear." As he held "Mr. Jingles" in his hand, Del asked, "Hey, captain, could I have a box for my mouse so he can sleep in here with me?"  
"I'll notice your English gets better when you want something," Paul answered.  
"Wanna see what else he can do?" Del asked. Paul moved his eyebrows up and down while Bobbie-Jo gave an approving grin as Del continued, "Hmm? Watch, watch, watch." He bent down and brought the mouse to the floor and asked it, "Mr. Jingles? Mr. Jingles, wanna play fetch? Wanna play fetch?" He said something in French Creole as Brutal looked at his fellow guards before the Cajun asked his pet, "Play fetch? Watch, watch, watch."

Del set his mouse friend down on the floor, took an empty thread spool, and tossed it to his opposite end of his cell. Mr. Jingles scurried over to the spool, and then moved it with his two front paws back to Del. The guards watched with awe while Del chuckled and said, "He fetch it every time – every time!"  
"That's some smart mouse, Del," John said from his cell, "Like he's a circus mouse or something."  
"A circus mouse?" Bobbie-Jo asked with a funny grin.  
Del laughed and said, "Correct! That just what he is, too! He's a circus mouse, and when I get outta here, he's gonna make me rich! You just watch and see if he don't do that!" As Del played fetch with Mr. Jingles again, the sound of squeaking shoes could be heard from behind the guards – Percy.

Percy looked into Del's cell and commented, "Well, well, well! Looks like you found yourself a new friend there, Del."  
Del looked at Percy with uneasiness and mumbled, "Don't hate him, okay." He brought Mr. Jingles back onto his shoulder.  
"The one I chased?" Percy asked the other guards.  
Brutal and Paul looked at him, and the latter half answered, "Yeah, that's the one. Only Del says his name is… Mr. Jingles."  
Bobbie-Jo smirked at Percy and said, "Uh-huh."  
"Is that so?" Percy asked with a little interest.  
"Del's been asking for a box," said Paul, "Big for the mouse to sleep in, I guess. Might keep it for a pet."  
Percy nodded before Paul asked him, "What do you think?"  
"You know what?" Percy said, "We ought to find a cigar box, and get some cotton from the dispensary to line it with. Yeah… Yeah, that should do real nice!"  
Bobbie-Jo gave a thoughtful look; maybe Percy wasn't such a bad man, after all? The youngest male guard nodded before walking away, while the other guards looked at him twirl his baton a bit.  
"The man said, 'Get a cigar box,'" Paul said with his own thoughtful look.

Later on, Paul and Bobbie-Jo were walking through the main administrative building, going to see Hal. When they got close to Hal's office, Paul waved a little bit to some secretaries before he and his daughter were welcomed by the warden. "Hal, you wanted to see me and Billy-John?"  
Hal turned at looked at the two guards and said, "Yeah. Close the door."  
Paul looked at "Billy-John", and then the "nephew" closed the door behind "him" and Paul. The guards removed their hats as Hal cleared his throat, put a pair of glasses on, and explained, "So you know, you've got a new prisoner coming in here tomorrow." BJ's eyes widened at bit as Hal looked at a clipboard and continued, "William Wharton – he's what you call a 'problem child.'" At the last words, he remembered how BJ said "he" was a little bit of a problem child, and looked at the blonde guard with a raised brow. "BJ, I was thinking you should come with the guards and see how they would retrieve this felon."  
Bobbie-Jo gave a nervous look to Hal before looking at her father. Paul motioned his hand to Hal, and then BJ gathered some courage to nod; she would go with some of the guards the next day to retrieve the inmate.  
"Anyway, he's got 'Billy the Kid' tattooed on his left arm," Hal continued, "Been rambling all over the state the last few years, causing all kinds of trouble. Finally hit the big time – killed three people in a home, one of them a pregnant woman. Bad news all around."  
Paul looked at Bobbie-Jo, knowing that there was something troubling Hal by the way his voice trembled. "Hal?" Paul said softly.  
"What's wrong, Mr. Moores?" Bobbie-Jo asked with sympathy.  
Hal removed his glasses and took a seat in a chair with his head lowered. "It's a tumor, Paul," he said sadly, referring to his wife's condition, "A brain tumor… They've got x-ray pictures of it. It's the size of a lemon, they said. And… way down, deep inside where they can't operate." Paul and BJ looked at Hal with sympathy as the warden sadly continued, "I haven't told her… I can't think how. For the life of me, Paul, I can't think how to tell my wife… she's going to die." He could feel tears build up as he lowered his head, put his hand on his face, and then began crying.  
"I'm sorry," Bobbie-Jo whispered softly as a tear slid down her cheek. It was that moment when she realized that there are far worse problems than urinary infections.


	17. Chapter 17

Later that evening, Paul and Bobbie-Jo returned home with sad looks in their eyes. When they went into the kitchen to check on Jan, Mrs. Edgecomb asked her husband and daughter, "So what happened today?"  
"Well, Mr. Delacroix has made a pet out of a mouse that's been scurrying around the block," Bobbie-Jo said, trying to keep a happy mood, "He named it 'Mr. Jingles.'"  
"Oh, really?" Jan asked.  
"Yep," Bobbie-Jo replied before her face dropped and she said, "We're also gonna get a new inmate tomorrow, and Mr. Moores said I should go with some of the other guards to get that guy."  
Jan gave her daughter a worried look and said, "Oh, honey, PLEASE be careful. You never know how these criminals are gonna react when you take them."  
"Mama, if I can train to be a man in a single day, I can help tame a wild animal tomorrow," Bobbie-Jo assured her mother with a determined look.  
Jan just looked at Paul uneasily, but he told her, "I wanna see how she does it when she and the others arrive with that fella tomorrow." His expression turned to sadness when remembered something else Hal told him.  
"What's wrong, Paul?" Jan asked.  
"Oh, Mama," Bobbie-Jo said as she held her mother's hand for comfort.  
"It's Melinda," Paul answered, "She has… a severe brain tumor. It'll take a miracle to cure her now." Jan leaned into her husband's chest and let him stroke her hair and hug her for comfort. Bobbie Jo put her arms around both her parents, and the three of them shared a sad hug.

That night, when everyone was asleep, Paul suddenly got some pain in his lower abdomen. He threw the covers off his side of the bed, and held his groin in pain. From her bedroom, Bobbie-Jo could hear him groaning and moaning as he went downstairs. "Oh no," she softly said to herself with low spirits, "Daddy's getting another bladder attack, isn't he?" She sat up in bed and put her hands on her head while whispering, "Please, God, don't make me have to live as a man and continue working on E Block for the rest of my life!"  
Then she got out of bed and went to her window. She saw her father trying to reach the outhouse so he could urinate, but sadly, he didn't make it; Bobbie-Jo saw him get down on his knees in agony as he had another accident. Immediately, she turned around and put her hands over her face, trying to hold back tears.

The next morning, Jan poured some coffee for her husband while Bobbie-Jo drank a glass of milk. Paul adjusted his tie and said, "We're going."  
"What?" asked Jan.  
"Well, first I'm gotta let BJ off and have to guards escort 'him' to the new prisoner, and then I'm going to see Dr. Bishop, that's where I'm going," Paul answered.  
 _Finally, a doctor visit,_ Bobbie-Jo thought to herself; she managed a small smile as she also thought about going to get the new inmate.  
"Today, young man," Paul said to his daughter, "You're gonna help get that new inmate squared away, remember?"  
"Uh, yeah!" Bobbie-Jo said in her manly voice.  
"That bad?" Jan asked her husband.  
"Yeah," Paul said as he finished spreading some jam on a piece of toast.  
As her husband had some breakfast, Jan hugged her daughter very tightly and kissed her on the cheek. "You be careful, BJ," she said as she looked at her daughter again.  
"Yes, Mama," Bobbie-Jo said with a small smile.


	18. Chapter 18

Later that morning at Briar Ridge Mental Hospital, we see a man with dark eyes, brown hair, light skin, and a tattoo of a cowgirl on his left arm under the phrase, "Billy the Kid." He was also wearing a white hospital gown and had a dazed and emotionless expression on his face, as if he were under drugs. Soon, an employee of the hospital led Harry, Percy, Dean, and Bobbie-Jo into the patient's room. "Alright, BJ, watch and learn," Harry instructed BJ, "And remember to act fast if he snaps!"  
"Yes, sir," Bobbie-Jo nodded.  
The four guards went up the patient, and Harry waved his hand in front of the dazed man. "The boy is doped to the gills," he said.  
"That means he's on some kind of drug," Dean whispered to Bobbie-Jo. The dark blonde-haired fellow snapped his fingers at the patient before waving his hand; the dazed man gave no response.  
"Dean, hand me them clothes," Harry instructed. Dean gathered up the black and white prisoner outfit as Harry turned to the patient and said, "William Wharton! HEY! You put on these clothes now, you hear?" Harry took the uniform from Dean and flung it onto the floor for the patient, who still did nothing.  
Percy just chuckled as Dean said, "We're gonna have to do this."  
"Do what?" Bobbie-Jo asked.  
"Dress him ourselves," Percy answered as Dean and Harry removed Wharton's gown. Percy looked at Wharton and commented, "Hellraiser, huh? Looks more like a limp noodle to me."  
BJ frowned at Percy and said, "Watch it, because one of these days, you'll be working with people like him."  
"Shut up, BJ," Percy muttered to her. He looked closely at the drooling Wharton and told him, "Hey! Hey! You've been declared competent, son. You know what that means? It means you're gonna ride the lightning. Ha, ha!"  
"Be nice, you cum-drinker!" Bobbie-Jo whispered.  
"Percy, will you shut up and give us a hand, here?" Dean asked as he and Harry helped the inmate dress.  
"Hellraiser!" Percy chuckled as he and Bobbie-Jo helped dress the nude man.

Later on, the paddy wagon was driving along the road to Cold Mountain Penitentiary, with BJ, Harry, Dean, and William Wharton riding in the back.  
Meanwhile, at E Block, Paul had just exited the bathroom with sweat on his forehead; it was perfectly clear that he had another hard time trying to take a leak. Del spied on Paul while looking at a tiny mirror and said, "Boss, you don't look so good. Looks you runnin' you a fever!"  
Paul looked at Del before he heard the phone ring. He went to go answer it when he heard John say to him, "Boss, I needs to see you down here, boss."  
Paul turned a bit and called out, "I've got things to attend to now, John Coffey, you just… you just stay still in your cell." He went to answer the phone, picked it up, and answered, "E Block."

Back outside, a gate was opened for the paddy wagon to go into the prison yards, and then another gate opened for it to go to E Block. Inside the block, Paul watched with a sweaty face and dabbed himself with a cloth. He then turned away from the window to catch his breath while the wagon stopped itself outside. Percy stepped out to open the rear of the wagon, and then the other guards stepped out with William Wharton, who still looked dazed and confused.  
"Come on, let's go!" said Dean as he held Wharton and moved his face around, "Come on, look alive, big boy!"  
 _I hope I don't hear another "Dead man walking" outta Percy,_ Bobbie-Jo thought to herself, remembering the day when John Coffey arrived.  
Inside the block, Paul was on the mile, staring at the entryway with his face drenched in sweat; John watched from his cell and whispered, "Careful." Paul turned back as John repeated, "Careful."  
As Dean and Harry opened the door to E Block, William Wharton turned his head a bit, and his dazed expression slowly turned into a wicked smirk. Upon entering, Wharton elbowed Percy in the face, and then placed his cuffed arms over Dean, strangling him and yelling.

Paul saw the commotion and ran to Dean's aid; Wharton slammed the dark blonde guard onto the desk, knocking various objects onto the floor. Just then, Percy, Harry, and Bobbie-Jo arrived; Harry and BJ ran after to stop Wharton, but Percy stayed behind nervously. As Paul fought to free Dean from Wharton's grip, the inmate kicked him in the groin, and made him fall to the floor in pain. Then, Harry tried to stop the inmate, but Wharton head-butted him and bloodied his nose. As the inmate laughed and yelled, Bobbie-Jo took out her baton and yelled, "Come on, Percy, help us get him down!" Percy still stood there, and then BJ ran over to stop William Wharton.

Meanwhile, Paul wearily pulled his pistol out while Harry ran after Wharton again, only to be butted by the inmate controlling Dean to throw Harry into some rubbish. "Ain't this a pretty neck?!" Wharton shouted as he kept strangling Dean with all his might.  
"Let him go!" Bobbie-Jo yelled from behind the inmate; she kicked him in the rear, but Wharton used Dean to whack her away and make her fall on her butt.  
"BJ, you okay?" Paul asked as he started to point his gun at the inmate.  
"Yeah!" BJ said as she got up, "I just wish Percy were helping us, that's all!"  
"Let him go!" Paul ordered William Wharton.  
"I hear ya!" Wharton said, refusing to follow orders.  
"Shoot!" Dean gagged to Percy, who still gave a nervous look. Percy wearily held up his baton as Dean repeated with a bloody mouth, "Shoot! Shoot!"  
"Come on, Percy, get him!" BJ yelled with an angry face.  
"Hit him, Percy!" Paul ordered, "God dammit!"  
"DO IT, PERCY!" Bobbie-Jo screamed at the top of her lungs.  
"GOD DAMMIT, HIT HIM!" Paul shouted.  
Despite orders, Percy refused to help, because he was scared of William Wharton.  
"Come on, Percy, hit Wharton!" ordered Harry as the inmate kept strangling Dean; the dark blonde was on the brink of dying by now.  
Just then, Brutal entered the scene; he took Percy's baton and hastily walked over to Wharton, who cried, "You ordered me! You ordered me!" Then, the large man whacked the inmate in the back with the baton, sending Wharton and Dean down to the floor.

Paul brought his pistol back and sighed in relief while Bobbie-Jo looked at Percy with a deadly glare. William Wharton looked at Brutal and asked, "You big-footer, where you come from?" Brutal just whacked Wharton on the head with the baton, knocking him out. He tossed the baton back to Percy, and then freed Dean from Wharton's grip.  
Dean gagged and gasped for air as Brutal helped him sit up. "Come on, Dean," Brutal said, "Come on, get up! Alright, just breathe! Come on, now."  
"I didn't see it coming," Dean breathed, "Didn't see it coming!"  
Harry got up from behind the rubbish and told Paul, "We thought he was doped! Didn't we? Didn't we… all of us, think he was doped?"  
Percy nodded, and Bobbie-Jo added, "Yeah! I knew it was a bad idea to come with you guys!"  
"But it's still… a good… learning… experience," Paul panted, "That'll… teach you… a lesson… about thinking twice… before joining your… uncle on… death row!" He turned to Harry and panted, "You didn't ask… but I guess that's not a mistake! You could think it again anytime soon, isn't it?"  
A few minutes later, Brutal and Percy moved the unconscious William Wharton into his cell and flung him onto his bed before leaving and locking the door.

Paul then told Brutal, "Go get Dean and Harry looked at. Make sure they're all right. Percy, you make the report to the warden for me. Start taking these situations under control – it's not a story, even appreciate you drawing out the suspense!"  
Brutal looked at Paul and said, "What about you? You're already quiet."  
"Ah, BJ and I got the mile till y'all come back," Paul assured, unwilling to admit that he was feeling sick and exhausted, "Go on now, go." Bobbie-Jo looked at him with a nervous look while Brutal and Harry walked over to Dean.  
Dean was sitting down with a cloth on his head when Brutal softly told him, "Come on, boy, let's get you looked at."  
As the three guards went away, Paul let out some exhausted breaths, got down on his knees, and then collapsed to the floor. Bobbie-Jo ran to him and asked, "Are you okay, uncle?"  
"BJ, I'll be fine," Paul lied, "I'm going to the doctor this afternoon, remember?"  
BJ gave a worried face and asked, "Can't you go right now?"  
"No," Paul breathed.  
As the girl's eyes began to get moist, a familiar deep voice said, "Boss, I needs to see you down here."  
Bobbie-Jo looked towards John's cell, and then whispered to Paul, "Come on, Daddy, this man needs you more than I do."  
"This is not a good time, John Coffey!" Paul said wearily, "Not a good time at all!"  
"Uncle Paul, come on," Bobbie-Jo begged with a lump in her throat as she took his hand, "You have to get up! Uncle… he just wants to see you."  
"BJ, it won't help," Paul mumbled, "This man's an inmate. Who knows what he might do?"  
"But I needs to see you, boss," John said, "I needs to talk to you."  
"Please?" BJ asked her father with an expression turning to sadness, "Just get up – only this one time!"  
Paul eventually gave in and struggled to get up; Bobbie-Jo helped him a little bit.

Shortly after, Paul and Bobbie-Jo slowly walked over to John's cell, where the large man was waiting behind the bars. Paul turned and looked at John while Bobbie-Jo stayed close to Del's cell across the way. "Closer," John said to Paul.  
"Don't you know you ain't supposed to do that?" Del asked the lead guard.  
"Mind your business, Del," Paul ordered the Cajun inmate.  
Paul slowly stepped closer to John and asked, "What do you want, John Coffey?"  
"Just to help," John whispered before grabbing Paul by the front of his jacket. Bobbie-Jo turned and gasped with fright while Paul reached for his pistol; John put his other hand onto Paul's hand while Del started screaming for help.  
"Let go of my uncle!" BJ ordered in "his" manly voice.  
"What are you doing?" Paul gritted through his teeth as John placed his hand onto the former half's crotch.  
Suddenly, a few of the lights on the block started to shine by themselves! After a few seconds, one of the lightbulbs sparked as Paul groaned in John's grasp, Del kept screaming, and Bobbie-Jo pulled out her pistol, pointing it at John.

Then all of a sudden, John let go of Paul and walked away. BJ put her pistol back into her belt and Del kept yelling for help. "Del, for Christ's sake, shut up!" Paul ordered.  
Del stopped yelling as Paul and Bobbie-Jo looked to see John sitting on his bed, coughing. The large inmate looked up towards the ceiling, opened his mouth, and then strange, fly-like things flew out of his mouth! "What are those?" BJ asked softly.  
"I don't know," whispered Paul. In a matter of seconds, the floating particles disappeared into thin air! Paul looked at John and asked softly, "What did you just do to me?"  
"I helped it," John answered, "Didn't I help it?"  
 _What does he mean?_ Bobbie-Jo thought with confusion.  
"I just took it back, is all," John continued, "Awfully tired now, boss. Now tired." He then turned away and laid down on his bed to rest.  
"Pleasant dreams," Bobbie-Jo whispered. Then her father motioned for her to come away so that John could rest.  
"Boss, what'd that man do to you?" Del asked.  
Paul didn't say anything; instead, he took his disguised daughter and the two of them left the area.

Paul and Bobbie-Jo walked away, and then Paul went into the bathroom to see if he could urinate easily. He closed the door and stared at the toilet, ready for another painful challenge. Soon he unzipped his pants, pulled out his agenda, and then urinated with surprising ease, much to his relief.  
Outside the restroom, BJ heard her father sighing in relief as the sound of urinating filled her ears. "I guess that means I'm gonna start staying home tomorrow," she told herself. She was both happy and disappointed; she was happy that her father was healed, yet disappointed that she would never come to E Block and help earn extra money again.


	19. Chapter 19

That evening, Paul and Bobbie-Jo arrived home with happy faces. Each of them hung their jackets on the coat rack, and then made their way to the kitchen, where Jan was making supper. "Hey, honey," Jan greeted when she saw her husband, "How you feeling?"  
"He's feeling much better!" Bobbie-Jo beamed, "He was…"  
Her sentence was cut off when Paul put his hand up to keep his daughter quiet. He couldn't just tell his wife that he was "magically" healed out of the blue. "Oh, not too bad," He said as he stared at his wife's backside.  
"What'd the doctor say?" Jan asked.  
"Oh, you know doctors," Paul said casually. But BJ could tell that her father had something else in mind to say. "But God did it, mostly," Paul added on.  
Jan looked at him with a smile and mumbled to herself before going back to chopping vegetables. Paul approached her slowly and then gently placed his hand on her shoulder; Bobbie-Jo grinned and put her hand over her mouth to prevent from giggling. "We're having stew tonight," Jan said. Paul undid his wife's apron and she asked, "What are you doing?"  
Paul just gently caressed his wife on the neck and whispered, "What does it feel like?"  
As she watched her parents, Bobbie-Jo blushed and put her fists on her mouth. "I know what it feels like," Jan said to Paul as he kissed her, "Feels good." She then turned her head and started kissing Paul on the lips. The two of them shared kisses for the next several seconds; Bobbie-Jo went upstairs to giggle.

That night, Jan could be heard giving pleasant, sexual moans throughout the house. In her bedroom, Bobbie-Jo grinned and giggled herself to sleep, knowing that her parents were doing something naughty but special.  
The next morning, Paul could be heard doing a satisfied moan after an orgasm; we then go into the bedroom of Paul and Jan, where the couple were lying under the bedclothes, naked as a baby fresh from its mother's body. "Paul?" Jan said after a few satisfied breaths through her nostrils.  
"Yeah?" answered Paul.  
"Not that I'm complaining, we haven't gone four times in one night since we were nineteen," Jan stated.  
"Yeah, at your mom's, yeah," Paul mumbled.  
"Mmm-hmm," Jan said, "Wanna tell me what's going on?"  
Paul turned his head to his wife's face and said, "Well…" He and Jan shared a kiss before he said, "I never actually made it into Dr. Bishop's yesterday. To change the subject, I'm going to visit a lawyer, and see how Bobbie-Jo does on the mile without me this morning."  
"Are you sure?" Jan asked, "Didn't you make a deal with her about…"  
"I did, but I think BJ's starting to earn the trust of many of the other boys," Paul stated. He kissed his wife one last time before getting out of bed to put on his bathrobe.

In her bedroom, Bobbie-Jo was still sleeping in her bed when a knock came at the door. The girl kept on sleeping as Paul opened the door and softly said, "Bobbie-Jo? Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty. Come on, up, up, up!"  
Bobbie-Jo just mumbled and turned over; Paul went over to the bed and moved the bed sheets away, making his daughter shiver. "Come on, honey," Paul said, "Put your uniform on. You're working today!" He gathered up Bobbie-Jo's prison guard uniform and placed it on her bed.  
"Daddy?" Bobbie-Jo said in a tired, groggily voice, "I thought you were all healed. Don't you remember our deal?"  
"I am healed, and I do remember our deal," Paul said, "But I'm taking the morning off, and you're going to be working on E Block in my place until I come later this afternoon." Bobbie-Jo just yawned with an uninterested look as Paul told her, "Now hurry up and get dressed – your mama's cooking breakfast for you." Then, Paul left his daughter's room to give her some privacy to dress.

A few minutes later, Bobbie-Jo came downstairs, all dressed up in her uniform. "Hurry up and sit down to eat, honey," Paul called to her, "You'll be late."  
"Look, honey," Jan said with a smile, "I made some cornbread to go with your sausages and eggs!"  
Bobbie-Jo gave a small smile as she saw her breakfast, and then sat down to eat. "Am I late?" she asked her father.  
"Not yet, but you will be if you don't hurry up and eat," Paul told her. Bobbie-Jo started munching on some cornbread as Paul instructed, "Now remember, this is your first time on the mile without me, so be sure to listen to the warden if he ever stops by; play nice with the other guards; play nice with the inmates; no fighting, but unless a certain William Wharton breaks out and tries to kill you like he nearly did with Dean yesterday, then you gotta beat up his ass!"  
"But I don't wanna beat up William Wharton's ass!" Bobbie-Jo complained with her mouth full of food.  
"Don't talk with your mouth full, and don't use that kind of language at my table!" Jan said to her daughter with a stern look.  
Bobbie-Jo swallowed what was in her mouth and then asked her father, "Daddy, what will you do while I'm working?"  
"I'm visiting this fellow by the name of Mr. Hammersmith," Paul answered, "We'll be talking about a certain John Coffey." Bobbie-Jo's face became worried, but Paul assured, "Don't you worry, BJ, this will just be between this gentlemen and I. Now finish up and get on your bike, okay?"  
Bobbie-Jo plopped a sausage into her mouth, picked up her hat, and then hurried out the door. "Honey, don't forget your lunch!" Jan called, holding up a tin lunchbox. Bobbie-Jo turned and hastily took her lunchbox and wished her mother goodbye. "Goodbye, BJ!" Jan called, "Be safe on that mile!"  
"Okay, Mama!" Bobbie-Jo called as she climbed onto her bike and rode away.

Later on, Bobbie-Jo arrived at Cold Mountain Penitentiary, where she hid her bike under some stairs and tied it to an old pipe in the ground. She then ran up those stairs and went through a set of doors, where she had to hastily walk (not run) through some hallways over to E Block. As she walked, she quietly said to herself, "Daddy and I need to do something to thank Mr. Coffey. I wonder if Daddy secretly told Mama about what happened?" A few minutes later, she arrived at death row, where Brutal was sitting at a desk with Percy by his side.  
When the two men saw BJ, Percy snickered and said, "Well, well, well! Look who decided to sleep in this morning!"  
Bobbie-Jo just frowned and said, "If I slept in, it was a mistake! Let me tell you this, Percy Wetmore – if you come in to work late sometime, the tables will turn, and I'm gonna be laughing my ass off at you!"  
"Enough, gentlemen!" Brutal corrected the two guards, "We're not gonna begin this day with a fight, now, will we?"  
"I guess not," Percy said before looking at Bobbie-Jo with a raised brow and telling her, "I'm gonna go drain myself, so don't screw anything up, boy!"  
"And I'll be checking on Harry and Dean in another part of the prison," Brutal added, "Think you'll be okay with Percy?"  
BJ rolled her eyes and nodded before both the men went their separate ways. When she was sure the coast was clear, Bobbie-Jo pulled out a little canteen from her jacket pocket. It had a little piece of paper taped on with the writing, "Ipecac – Do Not Drink!"

Now a couple of days before, Bobbie-Jo had snuck into the medicine cabinet and found a bottle of ipecac, a medicine that induces vomiting. Carefully, she opened the bottle and poured a little bit of the medicine into her canteen, snickering to herself.  
On this day, Bobbie-Jo got out her ipecac canteen, unscrewed the top, and then poured some into Percy's cup of coffee. When she heard flushing from the restroom, she knew Percy would be back any second, so she screwed the lid back on her canteen, and hid it back in her coat pocket. When Percy came out of the restroom, Bobbie-Jo was standing straight by the mile, looking like a gallant soldier. The young man gave her a suspicious look and asked, "Are you alright, boy?"  
"Yes," Bobbie-Jo answered calmly, "Are you thirsty?"  
"I am," Percy nodded, "In fact, I'm gonna have some more coffee right now… so I can piss on you later."  
As Percy went over to the desk, Bobbie-Jo thought, _Piss on me, huh? We'll see about that._ Percy had three sips of his coffee, completely unaware of what BJ had done. The disguised girl just smiled and waited for the results when William Wharton called out, "Hey! Am I gonna get some of that coffee, too?"  
"No, you're not, Mr. Wharton!" Bobbie-Jo called to him with a frown.

Wharton looked to see who was talking to him from his cell. When he saw the disguised girl, he called out, "HEY! Come over here, boy. Lemme get a look at you. Cause you look more like a pretty little slut than a prison guard!"  
The inmate laughed as BJ approached him with a stern frown. "Hey! Don't ever call me a slut, you ape," she snapped at him when she got to his cell.  
Wharton just put his finger on one side of his nose, and then blew out some slimy mucus at Bobbie-Jo's jacket. "Just try and open up my cage for this ape named Billy the Kid!" Wharton chuckled.  
Bobbie-Jo wiped the stuff off with her sleeve and said, "Billy the Kid? I think 'Wild Bill' is a better name for you!"  
Offended, "Wild Bill" growled at her, "Don't you dare call me that! Wild Bill Hickok was no range rider!"  
Bobbie-Jo just ignored Bill as she made her way back to the main entryway where Brutal was standing with Percy; as it turned out, Harry and Dean didn't need any help, after all, so Brutal was back. "Hey, be careful around Mr. Wharton," Brutal warned BJ, "You saw what happened yesterday, didn't you?"  
"I did," Bobbie-Jo answered casually, "And you know what? I've got the perfect name for him – Wild Bill!"  
"I heard that, you fucking slut!" Wild Bill called out.  
Meanwhile, Percy was feeling uneasy in his stomach and chest. "Percy, are you okay?" Brutal asked him, "You look like you ate something bad."  
Percy opened his mouth to speak, but then put his hand over it as he felt something inside him want to expel from his mouth. "I'm fine," he said, "I-I think I just drank too fast, is all."  
"Are you sure?" Bobbie-Jo asked slyly, "Because something tells me you need to eat or drink in reverse."  
Percy frowned at her, but then he felt a sudden urge to let something nasty escape his mouth. "What the fuck?" he asked himself, "I was feeling fine this…" His sentence was cut off when he made a noise and covered his mouth; he immediately got up from his chair and ran to the bathroom to vomit.

"Poor guy!" Bobbie-Jo said while trying to hold back a laugh at her prank, "Maybe he has food poisoning or the flu?"  
"Either way, I don't see any humor in this, boy," Brutal said, trying to sound serious. Of course, he also tried to keep from smiling, but a chuckle escaped his lips. "Then again, you can't really feel sorry for Percy considering what a dick he is!" He chuckled.  
Bobbie-Jo just made her way to the main entryway of E Block, trying to hold back laughter as she patted her jacket pocket containing the ipecac canteen. When she got outside, she let all the laughter out; Bobbie-Jo had never laughed so much in her life! When she felt a feeling in her legs, she told herself, "I hope Percy doesn't hog up the restroom all day, cause I gotta go right now!"


	20. Chapter 20

That afternoon, Del was resting in his cell reading a magazine when he heard something clanking; obviously, someone was coming. He got up from his bed and saw Paul holding something in his hand; Bobbie-Jo walked alongside her father. "Oh, me, oh my," Del said softly as Mr. Jingles left his box to scurry to his master.  
"John?" softly said to John Coffey, who was resting in his cell, "John?"  
"Psst!" whispered Bobbie-Jo, "Wake up!"  
John turned over and said, "Smellin' me some cornbread."  
"I think my uh, auntie made it," Bobbie-Jo told him.  
"That's right," Paul said before turning to John and saying, "It's from my missus. She wanted to thank you."  
"Thank me for what?" John asked after sitting up.  
"Well, you know," Paul started. He looked around and then whispered, "For helping me."  
"Helping you with what?" John asked.  
Bobbie-Jo moved her eyes down to her father's front while Paul just said, "You know." He moved his fingers down at his groin, indicating the help he received when John healed him of his bladder infection.  
"Oh," John said with a smile, "Was your missus pleased?"  
"Several times," Paul answered with a nod. Bobbie-Jo just snickered before Paul gave her a stern look.

John got up from his bed as Paul handed him the cloth containing the cornbread through two of the cell bars. The large inmate slowly walked over to Paul and BJ, and then gently unwrapped the cloth, revealing some delicious cornbread. "My auntie is an excellent cook, John," Bobbie-Jo told the inmate, "She makes excellent cornbread, cherry pie, and chocolate roll cake that's famous all around town. I wish my uncle and I could bring a sample from all those things."  
"Oh just this amount is fine with me," John told the disguised girl with a smile.  
"Oh, John, I can smell that from over here," Del said from his cell, "I surely can."  
John thought for a moment and then asked the guards, "Can I give Del and Mr. Jingles some?"  
"It's yours, John," Paul answered, "You can do with it as you please."  
Bobbie-Jo nodded in agreement. John held out two pieces of cornbread and said with a grin, "Here. This for Del and Mr. Jingles."  
Bobbie-Jo grinned at the fact that John wanted to share his treat with Del and his pet mouse. "That's awful kind of you," she said softly.  
"Hey, what about me?" Wild Bill asked, "I'm gonna get some too, ain't I?"  
BJ glared at Wild Bill's cell while Paul told John, "It's yours, John, as you please."  
"I think I'll just keep the rest, then," John said as he turned away.  
Paul and Bobbie-Jo went over to Del's cell with the remaining cornbread. Paul handed the cornbread to Del and said, "Curtesy of the gentleman across the way."  
"Bon appetite!" Bobbie-Jo smiled.  
"Oh, John, that's so very fine of you," Del said as he took the cornbread from Paul, "I thank you. Mr. Jingles thank you. My momma thank you, too, but she dead!"  
"You're welcome!" John said with his mouth full of cornbread.  
"HEY!" shouted Wild Bill, "What about me? Don't you hold down on me, you big, dumb nigger!" He laughed as Paul and BJ approached his cell with angry looks. "Ooooh, here come the boss man and his pretty little slut!"  
"Stop calling me that!" Bobbie-Jo softly scolded him with a frown.  
"You'll keep a civil tongue on my block," Paul reprimanded Bill.  
Wild Bill just turned, snorted, and then spat into Paul's face! "He blew a booger on my jacket this morning!" Bobbie-Jo whispered to her father.  
Paul got out a handkerchief and sternly said to Bill, "You get that one for free. But that's the last one."  
Wild Bill chuckled and said, "That's it? Just that little bitty one? I guess I'm gonna have to PIG OUT for the rest, huh?" The two guards ignored him and walked away.

Later on, Harry was looking at a clipboard as he walked down the mile. Just then, he felt something sprinkle onto his leg! He shot up in surprise and then turned around to see Wild Bill urinating at him! Bill laughed and cried, "Yee-haw! Good shot, Wharton!" Harry looked down at the impact while Bill kept laughing, "That look on your face!" He got up onto his bed and bounced a bit as he kept laughing like a maniac.  
Brutal, BJ and Paul approached Harry, and Harry told them with disgust, "Can you believe this? That son of a bitch pissed on me!"  
"Woo! Y'all like that?" Wild Bill laughed, "I'm currently cookin' up some turds to go with it! A nice supper!" He bent a little bit and then said, "I'll hand them out to y'all tomorrow!"  
Brutal looked at Paul, who looked at the restraining room, and then Paul said, "We've been needing to clean out that room for a while."  
"Oh yeah," agreed Brutal.  
Several minutes later, numerous guards from other blocks assisted the E Block guards to clean out the restraining room for Wild Bill to stay in. Bill watched on and said, "Hey! Hey! Be careful of that – that's fragile! Hey, hey! What's it now? What's it now, moving day? Y'all wanna come in here and dust a little? You can shine my knob for me while you're in!"  
Just then, Paul and Brutal came up to Wild Bill's cell; Paul hold a straightjacket and Brutal held his baton. Wild Bill stepped back with a sly grin, chuckled, clapped his hands once, and said as he removed his belt, "You can come in here on your legs! But you go out on your backs. Billy the Kid's gonna guarantee that!" He moved his fists a bit and finished, "C'mon, fuckstick! No sneaking up on me this time! We're gonna go man-to-man!"  
Paul and Brutal opened the cell and then stepped back, revealing Harry carrying a firehose. Wild Bill's smile dropped as Harry smirked, "Piss on _me_?" At those words, Harry turned on the hose and sprayed Wild Bill with water, subduing him against the wall in his cell. Wild Bill tried fighting back, but it was no use.

A few minutes later, Bill was wet and coughing out water while wearing the straightjacket; the guards pulled him out of his cell and held him down on the floor while Paul adjusted the straps on the straightjacket. The inmate laughed as Paul said, "Okay, Wild Bill, a little walky-walky!"  
"Don't you call me that!" Bill snapped as he tried to attack the guards, "You sound like that slut BJ! Wild Bill Hickok was no range rider! That son of a bitch was acting under bad law! That son of a bitch sat with his back to a door, killed by a drunk!"  
"Oh my!" Brutal said as he held Bill down, "Sounds he bought us a history lesson! Oh, you just never know what you're gonna get when come down to work on the Green Mile!" Wild Bill chuckled as the guards got him up on his feet and Brutal said, "Thank you, Wild Bill!"  
This made Bill lose his temper and shout at Brutal, trying to attack him. He couldn't, because he was restrained by a straightjacket. Brutal and Paul each took one of Wild Bill's arms and led him to the restraining room. "Oh, fuck! Not in there!" cried Bill, "Not in there! I'll be good! Really, I'll be good! Honestly, I will! I will!" He then gagged, needing an urge to vomit, so Brutal and Paul lowered him to the ground as Bill spat up.  
"Rise to the extension to fit!" Harry said from behind the two guards.  
"He'll be fine, boy, trust me on this one!" Paul said. He then counted to three before he and Brutal threw Wild Bill into the restraining room for solitary confinement.  
"Hey! Hey!" Wild Bill called out as he got on his feet when the door closed. He ran over to the door and tried bursting it open, but nothing happened as everything went dark inside. "Hey, fellers! I don't like it! All I wanted was a little cornbread, you mother fuckers! All I wanted was a little cornbread!"

Sometime later, the door to the restraining room was opened, and Wild Bill looked up at Brutal and Paul. "I, I learned my lesson," said Wild Bill, "I'll be good."  
So Wild Bill was back in his cell moments afterward. It wasn't long before Toot the janitor was cleaning up the mile while also having his lunch break. He took a sip from a bottle of soda, and then let out a burp. As he took out a Moon Pie, he heard a familiar voice softly call, "Psst! Hey, Toot!" Toot turned and saw Wild Bill, who told him, "I'll give you a nickel for that Moon Pie."  
The inmate gave the janitor a nickel, and Toot gave Wild Bill the Moon Pie. Bill hastily opened the package, and then shoved the entire treat into his mouth.  
A few minutes later, Brutal was walking down the mile with a clipboard when he noticed something odd about Wild Bill; he looked into the rowdy inmate's cell and saw that his eyes were big and his cheeks were puffed like a chipmunk. After a short period of silence, Wild Bill rammed his cheeks with hands, and spat the half-eaten Moon Pie into Brutal's face! The inmate laughed and mocked, "Pfooh! Pfooh! Pfooh! Oh, look like Sam-Bo!" He gibbered something before laughing, "HOW DO YOU DO?"  
As Brutal wiped the chocolate from his face, he sternly told Bill, "Your bags are packed!"  
"My bags are packed!" Wild Bill said eagerly, "I'm ready to go! Where we going? Let's go!"  
Minutes later, Wild Bill was wet and wearing a straightjacket again, while shouting, "No! No! No! No! No! No!" Paul and Brutal pulled him along and back into the restraining room.  
While Bill kept shouting and screaming, Paul pulled the switch to make the room go dark before turning to Brutal. "That Moon Pie thing was pretty original," breathed Paul, "Gotta give him that!"  
"Oh yeah," Brutal said softly as he and Paul walked away.


	21. Chapter 21

Sometime later, Mr. Jingles was resting upon Del's abdomen while the Cajun inmate rested upon his bed in his cell. Just then, he heard footsteps coming, so he turned and saw Paul, Bobbie-Jo, Harry and Brutal come up to him and open his cell door. "Del, grab up your things," said Paul, "It's a big day for you and Mr. Jingles."  
"What you talking about?" asked Del.  
"Important folks heard about your mouse," Brutal answered as he went into Del's cell, "Wanna see him perform."  
"Not just prison guards here," Paul added, "One's a politician all the way from the state capitol, I believe."  
"Cool," Bobbie-Jo said with a grin, "Uncle Paul, can I go with Del to show off his mouse?"  
"What do you think, Brutal?" asked Paul.  
Brutal looked at BJ with a grin and answered, "I don't see why not." Bobbie-Jo just grinned in delight.

A few minutes later, Del had on a green long-sleeved shirt, and then stepped out of his cell so that he, Brutal, and Bobbie-Jo would to go showcase Mr. Jingles. Del looked at Paul and Harry and asked, "You fellow coming?"  
"No, we've got other fish to fry right now, Del," Harry answered, "But, uh, knock them full loose, yeah."  
"Knock them full loose, Del," John repeated, "Like Mr. Harry says."  
Del smiled and then walked with Brutal and Bobbie-Jo down to another part of the prison to showcase the mouse.  
In the meantime, the other guards brought Toot the janitor to help rehearse the next execution – Del's; Percy was in charge this time. "Alright, let's move briskly, folks!" Paul announced, "There's not much time!"  
"Alright!" Toot hollered as he was escorted by Dean and Paul, "Rehearsing now – gotta move our asses! Not much time!"

In another part of the prison, some prison guards and important people from around town had gathered in a room to watch Mr. Jingles the mouse. As Bill Dodge adjusted the tie for one man, the latter half grumbled, "I've been fixing the plumbing here for ten years! Ain't never had to wear no damn tie before!"  
"Well, you're the VIP today, Earl," Bill answered, "So just shut up!" A knock came at the door and Bill told the audience, "Alright, everyone, have a seat!"  
Everyone took their seats as Brutal, Bobbie-Jo, and Del entered through the door with a cigar box containing a familiar mouse. "Don't be nervous, Del," Bobbie-Jo whispered, "But if you do get stage fright, then just picture everybody wearin' their undergarments and smile!"  
As the door closed behind them, Brutal held up Mr. Jingles and placed him into Del's hand. "This is great," Bill whispered to Earl the plumber.  
Brutal looked at BJ and whispered, "You wanna do the honors of introducing the mouse, young man?"  
Bobbie-Jo gasped and then smiled nervously; she had never introduced anyone for an act, let alone a prisoner and his mouse. But she cleared her throat and announced in her manly voice, "Uh, ladies and gentlemen! Put your hands together for Eduard Delacroix's amazing mouse, Mr. Jingles!"  
All the watchers applauded as Bobbie-Jo looked at Del with an encouraging smile. Del just chuckled and said, "Watch what my mouse do." He bent over a little bit with his arms held up behind his back, and then let the mouse scurry across his arm-span. Everyone gave sounds of awe before Del collected his mouse and set him down on the floor. "Now, Mr. Jingles, do you wanna play fetch?" the Cajun inmate whispered to the mouse as he pulled out the thread spool.  
Del then tossed the spool over to a corner of the room, and Mr. Jingles scurried after the spool while the audience giggled. When the mouse came back pushing the spool to his master, everyone clapped and cheered.

"This is one smart mouse, isn't it?" Brutal asked the audience with a smile. Everyone cheered.  
Bobbie-Jo smiled at Del and whispered to him, "Maybe you should take a bow with Mr. Jingles in your hand?"  
Del grinned and then bowed his head before the audience as he held the mouse up in his right hand.  
"Alright," Brutal told BJ and Del, "Are you two fellas ready to go back?"  
BJ and Del nodded before Bobbie-Jo turned to everyone and said in her manly voice, "Thank you. That was Eduard Delacroix and the amazing Mr. Jingles!" Everyone clapped their hands one last time as the guards and the inmate left the room to go back to E Block.


	22. Chapter 22

When Bobbie-Jo, Brutal, and Del came back to E Block, Paul wanted to know how things went with Mr. Jingles. He looked at the chuckling inmate and asked, "So?"  
"Oh, they love Mr. Jingles!" Del said with a grin, "They laugh over him, they cheer, they clap their hands!" He and BJ laughed and then turned to see Percy grinning at them.  
"Well, that's just aces!" Percy told Del with a chuckle, "Isn't that something?" Del circled him as Percy continued, "You done good, old timer! We're happy for you! Yeah, we are!" Percy then started laughing. Del gave a nervous look before he laughed, too. "BOO!" Percy cried out, scaring Del and making him fall down on his back.  
Bobbie-Jo glared at Percy while Brutal cursed, "Percy, you shit!"  
BJ bent over to Del and told him, "C'mon, Del! Get off the floor!"  
"Del, get up!" Brutal ordered as he and BJ helped him back on his feet.  
"Del, you numb-wit!" Percy said as he followed Del, "I didn't mean nothing about it, I was just playing! Come on, now, I was just having…"  
His sentence was cut off when a familiar tattooed arm grabbed him by the neck, making him scream! Paul rushed over and pointed his pistol at Wild Bill, who stroked Percy's head and taunted, "Ain't you sweet, boy?" Bill kissed Percy on the cheek while Dean, Harry, and Bobbie-Jo also got their guns out. "You soft like a girl," Wild Bill kept taunting to Percy.  
"Let him go!" Paul ordered.  
Wild Bill ignored him as he reached for Percy's groin and started touching his private parts while taunting, "I'd rather fuck your asshole than your sister's pussy, I thought…"  
"WHARTON!" Paul ordered. Wild Bill let go of Percy, who gave a moan of sheer terror and went away to the cell across from Bill in fright.

Wild Bill held his hands up and laughed, "I let him go! I was just playing! I let him go! I never hurt a hair on his pretty little head!" He looked at Percy and told him, "Your noodle ain't limp at all, lover boy! I think you're sweet on ol' Billy the Kid!" Bill sniffed his hand and remarked, "Oooh! But smell you…"  
Del laughed hysterically as Brutal held him to his cell for protection. Bobbie-Jo also tried holding some giggles back when she looked at Percy. Percy just looked down and saw that he was wetting his pants out of sheer fright. "Look at him!" Del teased, "He done piss his pants!"  
"Hey, look, everyone!" Bobbie-Jo chimed in, "Percy peed his pants!" She and Del then continued to laugh in humiliation.  
Percy just looked up in shame and humiliation after he mumbled, "Oh my God!"  
"Look what the big man done!" Del said as Brutal put him back into his cell, "He bust other people with his stick!"  
"Come on, get in there!" Brutal ordered as the inmate went back in before he closed the door.  
"But somebody touch him," Del continued mocking, "He make water in his pants like a little baby!"  
Del laughed until Brutal whacked his baton on some of the bars and ordered, "Del! When will you shut up?!"  
BJ kept laughing until her father gave her a glare, and then she stopped when he said, "BJ, this isn't funny! How would you like it if someone grabbed you and started touching YOUR private parts?"  
Bobbie-Jo just frowned and thought, _I just wanted Percy to learn a lesson, that's all._

Paul then approached Percy and held his hand out as he said softly, "All right, now."  
Percy pushed Paul's hand away and softly ordered, "Don't touch me!" He regained himself, sniffed, and then warned as he walked slowly, "You… you talk about this to anyone, I'll get you all fired. I SWEAR THAT TO GOD." He pointed at BJ, and finished, "Especially you, you little cocksucker!"  
Paul looked at Percy and told him, "What happens on the mile, stays on the mile – always has."  
Percy then looked at Del, who was holding back more giggles and shouted, "Yeah! You keep laughing, you French-fried faggot! You just keep on laughing!" He then stormed away in humiliation and disgust.  
Del just looked out his cell and teased, "Wetmore a good name for you!" He laughed and said in a sing-song tone, "Percy Wetmore do a dance, listen to him squishing in his pants!"


	23. Chapter 23

The next morning, Mr. Jingles was pushing the spool back to Del when the inmate and guards were discussing about what to do with the mouse after Del was executed. "Well, what about Dean?" Paul asked, "He's got a little boy – I'll bet he'd love to have a pet mouse."  
"How can a boy be trusting this with him?" Del asked, "He might forget to feed him, and I keep up with his training – he's just a boy, isn't he?" Paul nodded in understanding as Del threw the spool again, making the mouse go after it.  
"I wish I could take him," Bobbie-Jo said, "But my mama hates mice. If she saw me with Mr. Jingles, who knows what she'd do?" She looked at her father, who nodded in agreement. "Then again, I could keep him in secret."  
Paul nodded and said, "All right. I'll take him, then."  
Del chuckled and said, "Merci beaucoup kindly, but…" He stopped to sigh and continued, "You live out in the woods, and Mr. Jingles, he'd be… he'd be scared to live out in the big, old woods."  
"I don't think that'll happen," BJ told Del, "My uh, cousin, Bobbie-Jo's got some porcelain dolls in her room – they'd keep him company in her room." She smiled to herself at the last part.  
"How about Mouseville?" Brutal suggested.  
"Mouseville?" Del repeated as he sat up to face Brutal.  
"Tourist attraction down in Florida," Brutal explained, "Tallahassee, I think. Is that right, Paul, Tallahassee?"  
"Yeah, yeah," Paul said with a nod, "Tallahassee. It's just a little down the road apiece from uh, the Dog University."  
Brutal then asked Paul, "You think, uh, you think they'll take Mr. Jingles? You think he's got stuff?"  
"He is pretty smart," Paul answered as his disguised daughter smiled.

Del just smiled and asked Brutal, "What is Mouseville?"  
"Tourist attraction, I said," Brutal answered, "They got this big tent you go into."  
"Do you have to pay?" Del asked.  
"Well, are you shittin' me? Of course you pay!" Brutal answered, "Dollar for biggies, two cents for the kids!"  
"For the kids?" Paul wondered.  
"Inside the tent, they got this, uh, mouse city," Brutal continued, "Made out of old boxes, and toilet paper rolls, and little windows you look in. Plus, they got the Mouseville All-Star Circus." Del, Paul, and Bobbie-Jo smiled as Brutal continued, "Why, there's mice that swing on trapeze, mice that roll barrels, mice that stack coins!"  
Del chuckled and said, "Yeah. Yeah, that's it! That's the place for Mr. Jingles!" He bent over to pick the spool up again and said, "He gonna be a circus mouse, that dog!" He looked down at his mouse and said, "You gonna live in a mouse city down in Florida!" He tossed the spool down, but when it hit the floor, the spool bounced off a cell bar and out of the cell onto the mile. Mr. Jingles ran to get the spool as Del said, "Oh, there he goes!"  
Everyone watched the little mouse run out of the cell to retrieve the spool, but then suddenly, another familiar guard came walking by, and squashed the mouse with his foot!

Del looked to see Percy looking down at what he did, and screamed out, "NOOOOO! YOU KILLED HIM! NO!" Del ran out of his cell, but Paul and Brutal held him back. All Bobbie-Jo did was gasp with shock and anger, while Dean, Harry, and Wild Bill noticed the commotion.  
Paul, Brutal, and Bobbie-Jo left poor Del in his cell, and then Paul approached Percy. Percy lifted up his foot and revealed a bloodied and dead Mr. Jingles lying on the floor. "Well, I knew I'd get him sooner or later," Percy told Paul with no sympathy for Del, "It's just a matter of time, really."  
"YOU FUCKING CRUEL BASTARD!" Del screamed from inside his cell as Percy walked away.  
"Percy, you fucker, HOW COULD YOU?!" Bobbie-Jo screamed with rage as she tightened her hands into fists.  
"BJ, whatever you're thinking, don't do it!" Paul ordered her.  
Bobbie-Jo breathed in deeply for several seconds before kneeling down to see the dead mouse with moist eyes; she was fighting back tears of anger for Percy killing Mr. Jingles, and sympathy for Del.

Just then, a familiar large hand reached out from a cell, and John said to the guards, "Give him to me. Give him to me, there might still be time."  
Bobbie-Jo looked over to John's cell and asked, "What do you mean?"  
Brutal looked at Paul, and then Paul looked down at BJ and the dead mouse. "BJ, may I see the mouse?" Paul asked. Bobbie-Jo slowly nodded, and then Paul gently picked up Mr. Jingles.  
Harry, Dean, Brutal and BJ looked in awe as Paul carried the dead mouse to John, and Brutal asked, "What are you doing? Paul? What the hell?"  
Paul ignored him as he handed the mouse into John's hands. "Please, John, help him!" Del cried out to John with a lump in his throat, "Please, John, help him!"  
John took Mr. Jingles into his cupped hands, and then blew into them. All the guards watched in awe, and Brutal whispered, "Oh, dear Jesus! The tail – look at the tail!"  
Sure enough, the mouse's tail was moving around a little in John's hands; just then, a bright light appeared and shined through John's fingers. Everyone watched with wide eyes, and Bobbie-Jo whispered to herself, "It's just like magic – another miracle!"  
Soon, John freed his hands from his mouth, the light disappeared, and the large inmate coughed for a while until the fly-like particles escaped his mouth before disappearing into thin air.

After watching the particles fly away and disappear, the guards all looked at John, who bent over and let his hands loose. Mr. Jingles was alive again, and he scurried past the guards' feet over to Del's hand. Del picked up his mouse and cried tears of happiness. Dean looked at John and asked, "What'd you do?"  
"I helped Del's mouse," John answered, "He's a circus mouse – gonna live in a mouse city down in…" John struggled to find the right word.  
"Florida?" Brutal finished for him.  
John nodded and said, "Boss Percy bad." Bobbie-Jo frowned and nodded in agreement as John continued, "He mean. He stepped on Del's mouse. I took it back, though."  
"Merci," Del whispered to John and he played with his mouse in his hands.  
As the guards kept watching John, Paul said, "Brutal. BJ. You two come along with me." He then looked at Harry and Dean and told them, "You fellows go on back to your cribbage game." Paul led Bobbie-Jo and Brutal down the mile and over to the execution room where they would confront Percy.


	24. Chapter 24

In the execution room, Percy was dusting off the electric chair when Paul, Bobbie-Jo, and Brutal approached him with disappointed looks. "Now don't start in on me," Percy said with snippiness, "It's just a mouse – never belonged here in the first place."  
Bobbie-Jo just exhaled deeply through her nostrils while Paul stated to Percy, "The mouse is fine." Percy gave Paul a funny look, and Paul continued, "Just fine. You're no better at mouse killing than you are at… well, anything else around here."  
Percy just smirked and said sarcastically, "Yeah, you expect me to believe that, huh? I HEARD the goddamn thing crunch!" He then spat into a cloth to shine the chair up some more.  
"Aren't you glad Mr. Jingles is okay?" Paul asked, "After all this talk we had about… keeping the prisoners calm? Aren't you relieved?"  
"What kind of game is this?" Percy asked.  
"This isn't a game," Bobbie-Jo stated as she shook her head.  
"He's right - it's no game," Paul added, "Go see for yourself." Percy just rolled his eyes, but Paul told him, "Go on."  
Percy reluctantly nodded and then decided to walk on over to E Block and see about Mr. Jingles.

Sure enough, when Percy got to Del's cell, he saw the Cajun inmate talking to his mouse about the "mouse city" in Florida. The young guard just stood there with his mouth open for a while before going back to the execution room.  
When Percy got back, Paul was twirling his baton a bit and Percy said with no interest, "You switched him! You switched him somehow, you bastards!"  
Brutal decided to casually play along, so he told Percy, "I always keep a spare mouse in my wallet on occasions such as this."  
"Oh yeah, you're playing with me, huh?" Percy snapped, "All three of you – just who the hell do you think you are?"  
"Maybe if you weren't such a jerk, you could believe in a miracle once in a while!" Bobbie-Jo shot at him.  
"Well, maybe you can start eating my shit if you don't shape up, you dickhole!" Percy shot back.

Brutal grabbed Percy and threw him into the electric chair; Paul then grabbed Percy by the shirt collar and held him down as he said, "We're the people you work with, Percy, but not for long!"  
"Yeah!" Bobbie-Jo added with anger as she walked over to the side of the chair, "The sooner you go to Briar Ridge, the better!"  
"No," Percy muttered.  
"Percy, I want your word!" Paul demanded.  
"My word?"  
"I'll put you up front for Del," Paul explained, "You put in your transfer to Briar Ridge the very next day."  
"Well, what if I just call up certain people," Percy breathed, referring to his aunt and uncle, "Tell them you're harassing me? Bullying me?"  
"Cut the bullshit, already, and grow up!" BJ told him with a glare.  
"Go ahead," Paul told Percy, "I promise I'll leave your share of blood on the floor."  
"Over a mouse?" Percy asked.  
"No!" Paul breathed, "Before men were swearing, you stood by. While Wild Bill tried to strangle Dean to death, people will care, even your uncle the governor."  
"Who cares about that?" Brutal added, "That might even go in your work record. A work record can follow a man around for a long, long time."  
"If I put you out front, you put in a transfer," Paul told Percy, "That's the deal."  
Percy breathed a little, and then mumbled, "All right. All right." Paul and Brutal let go of the young man, and let him catch his breath.  
Paul then held his hand out to Percy and stated, "You make a promise to a man, you shake his hand."  
Percy reluctantly put his hand into Paul's and then the latter half pulled the young man out of the chair to shake hands while standing up. Paul then yanked his hand away from Percy, and then he, BJ, and Brutal left the room while Percy stayed behind.


	25. Chapter 25

That evening, a thunderstorm was occurring outside as people entered the execution room to witness Eduard Delacroix die. Over at E Block, Del was holding Mr. Jingles in his hands when the guards appeared and opened up his cell door. Del looked over and then told Mr. Jingles, "There you go, boy, onto the mouse city, eh, Mr. Jingles?"  
"Eduard Delacroix, will you step forward?" Paul asked as he stood in front of the cell.  
Del did as he was told while still looking at his mouse. He looked up at Paul and said, "Boss Edgecomb?"  
"Yes, Del?" Paul answered.  
"Don't let nothing happen to Mr. Jingles, okay?" Del said before setting the mouse on Paul's shoulder and finishing, "Here. You take him."  
Bobbie-Jo came over to Del and said, "Don't worry, he'll be safe in our hands for the time being."  
Paul looked at his disguised daughter and the mouse before telling Del, "Del, I can't have a mouse on my shoulder while… you know."  
"I'll take him, boss," John answered from his cell, "Just for now, if Del don't mind."  
Del held some tears back and said, "Yeah, yeah you take him, John. You take him to this foolish monkey town."  
Paul walked over to John's cell and let Mr. Jingles climb off his shoulder and into John's hand. He brushed his shoulder off with a cloth and then walked away to rejoin his fellow guards and Del.

Del looked over at John's cell with a nervous look and asked, "He gonna live in Florida in that Mouseville?"  
"We'll go together, most likely," Brutal assured the inmate, "Maybe take a little vacation there?"  
"Yeah," whispered Paul.  
"There might be a town in the place to see him," Del said, "Two houses full of kids, is that right, boss Howell?"  
"That's right, Del," Brutal said with a small smile.  
"You're a good man, boss Howell," Del admitted before looking at Paul, "You too, boss man. Your nephew is, too." Paul and Brutal looked at each other as Del continued with trembling lips, "I sure wish I could've met you guys someplace else." He looked at Mr. Jingles sadly and gave a farewell speech in French Creole.  
Paul and the guards then got into their proper places and led Del down the mile to the execution room as thunder and lightning rumbled outside.

* * *

In the execution room, Percy was standing by "Old Sparky," while Bobbie-Jo entered to watch behind the screen with Mr. Van Hayes, and a crowd of people were watching from their chairs. "I hope he's good and scared," whispered one woman, "I hope he knows that fires are starting to sentence him to Satan's flames."  
Just then, the rest of the guards entered with Del. Bobbie-Jo looked out from behind a barred window in the screen to see the Cajun inmate being escorted to his fate.  
Del saw Percy look at him with a stoic face, and Del winced. "Del, it's all right," Paul assured.  
"Everything's gonna be okay," Bobbie-Jo whispered to herself, "Mr. Jingles will be safe from harm."  
Paul, Harry, and Dean helped Del into the chair and then strapped and wired him in. When all the strapping was done, all the guards stepped aside, but Percy stepped in front of Del and ordered, "Roll on one!"  
Behind the screen, BJ watched Van Hayes get the electricity generated; almost all the lights in the prison shone.

Over at E Block, Wild Bill watched the lightbulb above his cell go bright, while John held Mr. Jingles and whispered, "You be still, Mr. Jingles. You be so quiet and hold still."  
Back in the execution room, Percy announced, "Eduard Delacroix, you've been condemned to die by a jury of your peers, your sentence implored by a judge of good standard in this state. Do you have anything to say before sentence is carried out?"  
Del just said with a lump in his throat, "I'm sorry for what I… I'm sorry for what I do. I'd give anything to take it back… but I can't. God have mercy on me, peace with you… amen."  
Paul nodded and then motioned for Harry to place the black hood over Del's head. "Don't forget about Mouseville," Del sobbed.  
Paul nodded in understanding, but Percy looked at Del and told him softly, "Hey! There's no such place. That's just a fairy tale these guys told you to keep you quiet." Del started crying as Percy finished, "Just thought you should know… faggot."  
Harry, Brutal and Paul gave shocked looks. Behind the screen, Bobbie-Jo silently mouthed with a glare, "I heard that, you animal!"  
As the black hood was placed over Del's face, Percy walked over to the bucket full of water where the sponge was lying close by. Percy placed the sponge in the bucket, but he still kept the sponge in his hand as he looked at Del, who was reciting the Hail Mary prayer in French Creole.

Percy remembered the day before when Del humiliated him for urinating himself out of fear for Wild Bill, so the young man did not place the sponge in the water. He then went up to Del, and put the dry sponge on the inmate's head before helping Harry screw the electricity source onto Del.  
From behind the screen, Bobbie-Jo felt her stomach tying in knots; she knew something wasn't right, and feared that something bad was to happen any minute.  
Meanwhile, Percy stepped away from the electric chair, faced Del, and announced, "Eduard Delacroix, electricity shall now be passed through your body until you are dead, in accordance with state law, and God have mercy on your soul!"  
Back in his cell, John nervously held Mr. Jingles, for he had a feeling something awful was going to happen, too.  
In the execution room, Paul looked down at the bucket on the floor, and noticed that there were no drips. Maybe the sponge was not wet? In a matter of seconds, Percy announced to the switch operator, "Roll on two!"  
Mr. Van Hayes pulled the switch, and Del's execution went underway!

Over at E Block, John felt as if he were being electrocuted, too. Wild Bill ran over to his cell bars and whooped and yelled very loudly, knowing that something was going on.  
Back at the execution, Del was screaming and suffering under the hood as he sat in the electric chair; the switch man and Bobbie-Jo looked up to see what was going on.  
"Oh my God!" Bobbie-Jo whispered with shock and wide eyes.  
Paul looked at Brutal and whispered, "The sponge is dry!"  
"What?" Brutal asked.  
Just then, sparks flew out of the electric generator in the electric chair! Paul went over to stop Van Hayes, but Brutal held him back.  
"Goddammit!" Paul gritted through his teeth, "Goddamn sponge is dry!"  
"Don't you stop him!" Brutal warned, "Don't you do it! It's too late for that!"  
Watching her father made Bobbie-Jo stay behind the screen; she wanted to attack Percy, but she didn't want Brutal to reprimand her, too!

Everyone in the room, including Percy, watched the execution with shock as Del experienced a very horrific, painful death. "Is this normal?" Someone whispered in the crowd.  
"Oh, God, the smell!" another person whispered in disgust.  
Over at E Block, Wild Bill cried out, "He's cooking now! They're cooking him good!"  
In his cell, John could literally feel Del's pain as Wild Bill kept on yelling whooping. He felt a zap in his hands, causing him to accidentally loose Mr. Jingles. The mouse flew out of John's hands and scurried away to the restraining room in fright. Then, John started screaming in terror, because of what was going on with the execution!  
"He's cooking now!" Wild Bill hollered, "HE'S COOKING NOW!" As he kept on hollering, the lights up above the mile started sparking, and some bulbs even broke!

Back in the execution room, Del's body started catching fire, making the poor man scream and move in pain even more! The crowd of onlookers began standing up from their seats, afraid of what was happening. "Should I kill the shoot?" Van Hayes called out to Paul.  
"No, roll!" Paul ordered, "For Christ's sake, roll!"  
Behind the screen, Bobbie-Jo tried cancelling out the noise by covering her ears, but that didn't do any good. _I wish I could get my hands on that bastard and strangle him!_ She thought, referring to Percy.  
Meanwhile, Percy was watching Del's suffering, and eventually put his hands over his mouth as people from the crowd screamed and got up to run for the exit. The onlookers crowded a door, trying to get out, but no one escaped.  
In his cell, Wild Bill was clinging to the ceiling as he cried out, "He's frying now! HE'S FRYING NOW! HE'S FRYING NOW!"  
In his own cell, John kept on screaming and moving about as he felt the pain of the Cajun inmate suffering.

Back at the execution, Hal came up to Paul and demanded, "Why don't you shut it down?!"  
"He's still alive!" Paul answered, "You want me to shut down while he's still alive?!"  
In the meantime, Percy turned away from Del, refusing to keep watching him suffer. Paul went over to him, grabbed him, and then ordered, "YOU WATCH, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"  
"IT'S ALL RIGHT, FOLKS!" Hal tried calling out to the onlookers, "IT'S ALL UNDER CONTROL!"  
As the warden tried calming everyone down, Paul made Percy watch what he did to poor Del as the Cajun man finally stopped moving and died with his head still on fire. "KILL IT!" Paul ordered Mr. Van Hayes, who immediately turned off the chair. Bobbie-Jo got down on her knees, relieved that Del was no longer suffering, but enraged that Percy killed him in a horrific manner.  
Brutal took a fire extinguisher from Harry and pushed it into Percy's arms, telling him, "You do it! You're running this show, ain't you?" Percy reluctantly went up and put out the fire with the water from the extinguisher.


	26. Chapter 26

Several minutes later, Delacroix's charred body was lying on a gurney down below the prison. Brutal covered it with a sheet, and then looked at Percy. "I didn't know the sponge was supposed to be wet," Percy said plainly.  
Brutal punched him in the face before Paul and Bobbie-Jo rushed to stop him. "Come on!" Bobbie-Jo shouted, "Lemme smack him in the face!"  
"No, BJ, no!" Paul reprimanded as he pulled both Brutal and BJ away from Percy.  
"What do you mean, 'no?!'" Brutal demanded Paul with anger, "How can you say no? You saw what he did!"  
"Delacroix's dead!" Paul shouted, "Now there's nothing that change it, and Percy's not worth it!"  
"So he just gets away with it?" Brutal shouted back, "Is that how it works?"  
Bobbie-Jo, meanwhile, glared at Percy and was about to hit him in the face when the sound of footsteps came down the stairs.

Everyone turned around and saw Hal coming down the stairs with a furious and disgusted look on his face. " ** _WHAT IN THE BLUE FUCK WAS THAT?"_ **the warden asked out loud as he approached the guards with his hands on his hips. He calmed down and then said, "Jesus Christ, there's puke all over the floor up there, and that smell! Van Hayes opened both doors, but that smell's not going out for five damn years, I'm bettin'! And that asshole Wharton is singing about it! You can hear him up there!"  
"Can he carry a tune?" Paul asked.  
Hal let out a small chuckle and then asked sternly, "Okay, boys, okay. Now what in the hell happened?"  
"An execution," Paul answered, "A successful one."  
"How in the name of Christ can you call that a success?" Hal asked with disgust.  
"Eduard Delacroix is dead," Paul said to Hal. He turned to Percy, who had a bloody lip from Brutal fighting him, and asked, "Isn't he?"  
Hal looked at the young man and asked, "Percy? Something to say?"  
Percy looked up at Hal and answered, "I didn't know the sponge was supposed to be wet."  
Bobbie-Jo felt a fiery flame of rage build up inside her, but Hal asked the young man, "How many years you spend pissing on a toilet seat before someone told you to put it up?"  
"Percy fucked up, Hal," Paul said, "Pure and simple."  
"That's your official position?" Hal questioned the lead guard.  
"Don't you think it should be?" Paul asked before stating, "He's putting in a transfer request to Briar Ridge tomorrow. Moving on to big and better things. Isn't that right, Percy?"  
"Yeah, yeah," Percy said softly with a nod.  
"Now if you don't mind, I'm going back to check on things at the block," Paul told everyone as he turned to go upstairs, "I think something might have happened with… some of the lightbulbs." So he looked back at everyone (especially BJ) and then made his way upstairs.

When Paul left, Bobbie-Jo crossed her arms and stared at Percy with a glare. "What're you looking at, boy?" Percy asked her.  
Bobbie-Jo just walked over to him with tight fists, but then she yelped when she felt something in her lower abdomen! The disguised girl collapsed to the ground and curled up in a fetal position, clutching her crotch and moving one hand onto one of her thighs.  
"BJ! What's wrong?" Hal asked as he, Harry and Brutal came to look at the poor guard. All Bobbie-Jo could do was move her hand away from her thigh, revealing some blood on her fingers. Hal gasped and cried, "Oh, God! He's pissing out blood! We gotta get him to the medical ward!"  
Harry picked up BJ by the ankles, while Brutal got his hands under her shoulders and said softly, "BJ, hold on, son. Everything's gonna be okay."  
Bobbie-Jo just moaned in pain before closing her eyes…


	27. Chapter 27

Up on the mile, Wild Bill was sitting on his bed, pulling feathers out of his pillow while singing, "Barbeque! Me and you! Stinky, pinky, pew, pew, pew! Weren't Billy, Jilly, Hilly or Pa! It was a French-fried Cajun named Delacroix!"  
As Bill kept on singing loudly, Paul walked on the mile and felt something break under his foot. He looked down and saw a piece of glass before looking up to see a lightbulb broken in one of the hanging lamps. He then went over to Wild Bill's cell, pounded the bars with his baton, and ordered, "You're about ten seconds away from spending the rest of your life in the patted room!"  
Wild Bill stopped singing and blew a few feathers out of his hand; this was the first time he ever followed any orders!

Paul then walked over to John Coffey's cell, and saw the large man sitting on his bed and crying. "Poor old Del," John sobbed.  
"Yeah, poor old Del," Paul repeated with a nod as he placed his baton back in his belt, "John? You okay?"  
"I could feel it from here," John said with a lump in his throat.  
"What do you mean?" Paul asked, "You could hear it? Is that what you mean, you could hear it?"  
"He out of it now, though," John said with tear stains on his face, "He the lucky one. No matter how it happened, Del's the lucky one."  
Paul nodded and then asked, "Where's Mr. Jingles?"  
"Ran away under that door," John sobbed as he looked at the door to the restraining room, "Don't think he'll be back. He felt it, too… through me. Didn't mean to hurt him none. All the hurt just spilled out." He sighed sadly and said, "Awful tired now, boss. Dog-tired."  
John laid down on his bed as Paul said, "Me too, John, me too."  
Just then, Harry quickly came over to Paul, tapped his shoulder and said, "Paul, excuse me, but something's wrong with your nephew."  
Paul's eyes widened in shock as he asked, "What do you mean?"  
"Before we took him to the medical ward," Harry explained, "He had this pain in his lower abdomen, and he was pissing out blood." Paul gasped as Harry finished, "You'd better come down and hope it isn't appendicitis." So Harry led Paul away hastily, and the two made their way to the medical ward. John, meanwhile, cringed when he felt something in his own abdomen.

* * *

When Harry brought Paul to the medical ward, the two of them stood beside Brutal, who was leaning backward against a wall in nervousness. Hal and Percy each stood by a side of the door to the room where Bobbie-Jo was in, waiting for news. Paul was the only one who knew what was really wrong with BJ; he knew it was something that happened to girls about once a month, so he placed his hand over his mouth, worried about the cat being let out of the bag.  
Sure enough, a physician opened the door from inside the room, and whispered, "Hal!" Hal leaned in towards the doctor, who whispered in his ear, "She's not really a man, Mr. Moores."  
Hal looked at Paul with suspicion, and then followed the physician into the room. Percy was curious as to what was happening, so he decided to silently follow Hal.  
As Hal approached the bed that BJ was lying on under some sheets, the young guard moved her head a little bit, opened her eyes, and then sat up. She was not wearing her shirt or jacket, but she was wearing a corset tied very tightly to make her chest appear flat. Hal looked at her chest in shock, but Bobbie-Jo covered herself with the sheet and gasped, "I-I can explain."  
Percy also came to the bed and gasped with shock, "So it's true!"  
Hal exhaled through his nostrils in disbelief and then left the room. "Hal!" BJ called to him; Percy then picked her up by the back of the neck and pulled her out of the bed.

Percy then took the poor girl out of the medical room and shouted with anger, "I KNEW I smelled a rat the first time I saw you!" He turned BJ around and showed everyone her identity as he cried out, "A girl!" Harry and Brutal both gasped while Percy threw BJ down to the ground and chastised, "You treacherous bitch!"  
Bobbie-Jo looked up with anger and shame as she said, "My name is Barbara Josephine! I'm Paul's daughter! I did this to help him when he was sick."  
"Paul, do you have anything to say?" Hal asked with a serious expression.  
Paul was about to say something when his daughter cried, "I didn't mean for it to go this far!"  
"Goddammit, Hal wasn't talking to you!" Percy shouted in Bobbie-Jo's face.  
"It was the only way!" BJ shouted with anger, "Please believe me, Percy!"  
"Hmmph!" Percy scoffed, "I wouldn't believe you in a thousand years. In fact, I wouldn't believe you if you were the last person on earth!" He then pushed her down with his foot, and she was now lying face-first on the ground, groaning.  
"Percy, what are you doing?" Harry cried out.  
Percy didn't answer; instead, he kicked Bobbie-Jo very hard in the left side of her body.  
"Percy, STOP IT!" Paul yelled when he saw his daughter being bullied.  
Again, Percy ignored him and kicked BJ even harder in her side, making her cry out in pain!  
Finally, Hal and Paul tackled Percy and pinned him to the ground. "Percy Wetmore, how could you inflict pain on that poor child?" Hal inquired him with anger, "You ought to be ashamed of yourself, boy! This is Paul's daughter, Bobbie-Jo! Now get up!" He and Paul freed Percy from their grip; Paul went over to help his daughter.

Hal also went over to Bobbie-Jo, but then he looked down and told her calmly but sternly, "Young lady, I don't ever wanna see you dressed in that uniform ever again. Understand?"  
Bobbie-Jo looked at him with teary eyes and sadly nodded, "Yes sir."  
Percy came over to her and growled, "That's right. You are FIRED, Miss Edgecomb! And another thing - sooner or later, I'm gonna report to some of my important relatives about this!" At the last word, Percy spat directly into her face.  
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Paul snapped with rage. Percy and Hal then walked away; Brutal and Harry sadly looked at BJ, and then also went away. Paul helped Bobbie-Jo on her feet and said softly, "Come on, honey. We'd better get your side looked at." He and his daughter walked back to the door to have some treatment done for BJ's side.

* * *

Several minutes later, Bobbie-Jo was wearing her white dress shirt again, but she now had a gauze pad covered by a cloth over the place where Percy kicked her; it was clear that she had a broken rib or two. BJ and Paul were back in E Block, and were sitting at the main desk. "I'm sorry this happened, Daddy," Bobbie-Jo sobbed, "I didn't think it would, but I didn't see it coming."  
"Honey, no one sees these things coming," Paul softly said to his daughter, "And I will admit, I was disappointed in you coming here, but…" He stopped to heave a heavy sigh and finished, "I'm glad you worried about me. That shows you love me."  
Bobbie-Jo wanted to smile, but she was so overcome with sadness and humiliation. "I should never have cut off my long hair, and ran away from home," she lamented softly as tears rolled down her cheeks, "I should've just listened to you, Daddy."  
"Well, you wanted to save me from dying on death row," Paul said as he put his hand around BJ's shoulder, "Not as an inmate, but as an ailing guard. Maybe I was wrong? Maybe I should have focused more on my health and stayed home to see a doctor? The whole thing is not your fault, sweetheart."  
"Well, maybe I didn't really do this to help you, Daddy," Bobbie-Jo said softly as she picked up her prison guard hat, "Maybe what I really wanted was to prove to you and Mama that I could do things right? So when I looked at the mirror, I'd see someone worthwhile." She looked at her reflection in the gold badge of her hat, but then she sobbed, "But I was wrong! I see nothing!" She threw her hat onto the floor and finished, "And what do I get for working here? A kick in the ribs!" BJ then buried her face in her arms and started crying again.

As Paul comforted his crying daughter, a familiar large hand appeared between two cell bars, and a familiar deep voice softly called, "BJ? I wants to see you. I feel your pain, and I wants to help you."  
Bobbie-Jo slowly and sadly looked up from her folded arms towards the end of the mile. A tear slid down her cheek as she asked, "What do you want, John Coffey?"  
"Bobbie-Jo, he just wants to help you," Paul gently reprimanded her. He then motioned for her to go walk down the mile to John's cell.  
Bobbie-Jo reluctantly and sadly did as she was told. When she got to John's cell, she turned to the inmate and asked, "How are you gonna help?"  
"Just come closer," John softly said.  
Bobbie-Jo slowly went up to his cell, and then John placed his right hand onto the girl's injury. Bobbie-Jo screamed out in pain, "OW! Daddy, help!"  
"Bobbie-Jo, it's okay!" Paul called, "He's helping you, not hurting you!"  
BJ then placed her hands onto one of the cell bars; John put his left hand onto her hands as the girl winced in pain. Just then, some of the lights up above shone very brightly; some of them even sparked a bit. After several seconds, John let go of Bobbie-Jo, and the girl stepped back, watching John cough.

After a little bit of coughing, John looked up at the ceiling and let some particles escape from his mouth and fly up before disappearing. Bobbie-Jo looked up in awe and gasped, "John, what'd you do to me?"  
"Didn't I help it?" John asked, "I took it back." Bobbie-Jo felt her left side and surprisingly felt no more pain as John continued, "Boss man Percy really mean. He break two of your ribs. He hurt you real bad. But I helped it."  
Bobbie-Jo's tears of sadness turned to tears of happiness as she whispered, "You're an angel, John. A living and breathing angel! Thank you."  
"I'm tired now, BJ," John said softly as he went over to his bed, "Dog-tired."  
As John laid down on his bed, Bobbie-Jo whispered, "Good night, John." The girl then walked away to join her father so that they could go home and get some sleep.

Author's Note: Once again, I borrowed a little dialogue from Mulan ((c) Disney)


	28. Chapter 28

Later that night, Paul and Bobbie-Jo were back in their house having a very late dinner while listening to the radio. Jan came up to her husband, and the two of them shared a little hug; Bobbie-Jo also put her arms around her parents and hugged them. "I got fired tonight," she whispered to her mother, "They all found out."  
"Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry," Jan softly told her daughter before giving her a kiss on the forehead, "But maybe tomorrow you can make up for all your hard work by visiting your friends?"  
"Visiting?" Bobbie-Jo asked softly; an idea soon started brewing in her head.  
"Yes," added Jan, "Your father and I are thinking about going to visit Mr. and Mrs. Moores tomorrow afternoon."  
"And then you could catch up with Marion and Yvonne or you could just have the whole house to yourself," Paul added with a smile.  
Bobbie-Jo smiled and then said, "I think I'm gonna go upstairs and put my nightgown on. Good night."  
Each of her parents gave her a kiss and then bade her goodnight. Bobbie-Jo went upstairs and started thinking about what to do the next day.

As she lay in her bed later on, Bobbie-Jo thought about her parents' advice. She wanted to visit her friends again, but mostly she wanted revenge on a certain prison guard who humiliated her and injured her. She rubbed her hands together and thought about what to do. After several minutes of careful planning, Bobbie-Jo smirked to herself and giggled in a sinister way. "Yes," she told herself, "This will put 'sweet' back in 'sweet revenge!'" Then she turned over and fell asleep.

* * *

The next day, Paul and Jan were driving down the road in their car, off to visit Hal and Melinda Moores. Bobbie-Jo was still at home trying her hand at baking one of her mother's renowned chocolate roll cakes with whipped cream; she told them that she was going to "a friend's house," and was taking that cake to enjoy with her company. Her parents seemed to buy the story before they left.  
When Paul and Jan reached the warden's house, Paul told to his wife when he parked the car, "I hate this."  
"I know," Jan said.  
Hal greeted his guests with wave, and then the Edgecombs stepped out of their car. Melinda, Hal's ginger-haired wife, was sitting in a wheelchair underneath an umbrella for protection from the sun. Jan came up to her and greeted her with a "hi."  
"I'm so happy to see you," Melinda replied as Jan came over to lightly kiss her on the cheek.  
"Look at you," Jan complimented.  
Paul held Melinda's hand and said, "Well, we miss you at church."  
Melinda smiled before feeling her head and saying, "Oh, I've got my head."  
"You all right?" Jan asked.  
Melinda simply explained that it was a headache. As Paul watched the two ladies, he thought of something.

While Hal was cooking on the grill, Paul was standing beside him. "She's having one of her good days," Hal told Paul, referring to Melinda, "I thank God for that."  
As Hal drank some beer, Paul asked, "What's a bad day?"  
Hal looked at Paul and answered, "Sometimes she's… she's not herself anymore. She swears."  
"She swears?" Paul repeated.  
"Just pops out," Hal continued, "Most awful language you can imagine! She doesn't even know she's doing it. I didn't know she ever heard words like that. To hear her say them in her sweet voice… I'm glad she's having a good day, Paul. I'm glad for you, and Jan, and Bobbie-Jo." He realized something wasn't right and asked, "Where is your daughter, anyway?"  
Paul simply answered, "Oh, she said something about visiting a friend's house today. She was making one of her mother's famous chocolate roll cakes to take over while she was out."  
Hal nodded and said, "So long as she's anywhere but E Block, I'm fine with that."

* * *

Meanwhile, at E Block, the phone rang, and Brutal answered it. "E Block?" he answered as he spoke into the phone, "Yes… Yes, uh, he just got back from Briar Ridge, and he's sitting in the office right now… all right, we'll tell him… thank you… goodbye."  
The person who was in the office was Percy, who had just gotten back from talking to staff at Briar Ridge. A knock came at the door, and Dean opened it. "Percy, you have a visitor coming," the dark blonde man said before closing the door.  
Moments later, Percy opened the main door and was surprised to see a familiar blonde-haired girl standing in front of him; Bobbie-Jo was wearing a pink dress made from recycled chicken feed sacks, white stockings, and black Mary-Jane shoes. She was also carrying a chocolate cake in one hand. "What the hell are you doing here?" Percy asked her.  
"I, uh, heard you were switching jobs," Bobbie-Jo answered casually, "So I thought I'd stop by with a 'going-away' treat for you."  
Percy looked at what was in Bobbie-Jo's hand and asked, "Well, what is it?"  
"It's a chocolate roll cake like my mama makes," Bobbie-Jo replied with a smile, "But I made it myself." Percy gave her a confused look, and then the girl remembered the night before when her secret was discovered. "I'm sorry," she mumbled with a sigh. Percy moved his thin eyebrows before Bobbie-Jo finished, "I'm sorry for all the stuff I put you and the others through." Then the young man motioned for her to come in and let him have some cake.

Several minutes later, Percy was sitting at the main desk before the mile, finishing up a piece of roll cake. As he ate the last bite, he made contented noises while Bobbie-Jo watched with a close eye. "So," Percy started as he finished swallowing cake and cut himself another slice, "Seems like no one in Louisiana will wanna enroll a white-trash, cross-dressing whore." Bobbie-Jo looked a little offended; Percy was already planning to tell his aunt and uncle about Bobbie-Jo's incident. He sucked some whipped cream off his finger and finished, "Will they?"  
Bobbie-Jo rolled her eyes as Percy slyly smiled and then forked up another bite of cake. As he ate that bite, he said with his mouth full, "Mmm! This is a really good cake, BJ."  
"I'm glad you like it," Bobbie-Jo said with a sly grin.  
Just then, Brutal and Dean entered the area, both surprised that "BJ" had showed up to visit Percy. Percy then remembered something and told her, "IF Hal takes you back, you'll have to go through a long time of law school, and because you're a woman, he'll have to cut your pay two dollars a week."  
"Take me back?" Bobbie-Jo asked while Brutal and Dean each had a drink of coffee from their cups.  
Percy had another bite of cake and asked the girl with his mouth full, "What does your mom put in here that makes it taste so good?"  
"That good vanilla from Mexico," Bobbie-Jo answered as she walked around the desk a little bit, "And some extra cocoa powder to give it a more chocolatey flavor, not to mention some cream all the way from Missouri." She paused to give a big smile before finishing, "But I made this cake myself, and I added an extra special ingredient just for you."  
"BJ, you made this cake?" Brutal asked the girl as he pointed to the cake.  
Bobbie-Jo simply nodded with a smile.

Brutal then picked up the knife on the cake plate and tried cutting himself and Dean each a slice. Bobbie-Jo stopped him by pulling the cake away and saying, "Oh, no, no, no, no, you two. Sorry, but this is Percy's special 'going-away' cake."  
Percy looked at Bobbie-Jo as he swallowed some cake and then said, "The other guys can have some cake." Brutal and Dean looked at Bobbie-Jo while Percy furrowed his brows and scoffed as he moved the cake towards BJ, "Cut them some slices!" Bobbie-Jo did nothing, and Percy told her, "Go find some more plates."  
As Percy ate another bite of cake, Bobbie-Jo frowned and slapped the palm of her hand onto the desk. "Eat my shit!" she snarled at Percy.  
All the men looked at her with shock, and Percy asked her in disbelief, "What'd you say?"  
Bobbie-Jo looked at him and said, "I said, 'Eat… my… shit!'"  
Brutal and Dean looked at each other with confusion while Percy got up from his seat and looked at Bobbie-Jo with a glare. Fearing his temper, BJ stepped back a couple of steps as Percy slowly approached her. "Have you lost your goddamn mind?" He inquired her when he was couple of inches away from her.  
Bobbie-Jo gave a nervous look, but then she smirked as she shook her head and said, "No, sir. But you're about to… cause you just did."  
"Did _what_?" Percy growled.  
Bobbie-Jo moved her eyes, looked at the cake, and mouthed, "Eat my shit, that's what."  
Brutal and Dean both looked at the cake, then at Bobbie-Jo, and both men gasped. Percy decided to examine the cake very carefully as the other men looked at Bobbie-Jo, who just smiled calmly.  
Dean started whispering, "BJ, you actually baked…"  
Bobbie-Jo just gave a nod, and Brutal couldn't hold back his laughter anymore. Dean also started laughing, and Percy started feeling weak in the stomach; it was that moment when he realized that Bobbie-Jo had actually baked some of her own excrement into that cake! Percy coughed and gagged, and then had to cover his mouth to prevent himself from vomiting.

As Percy ran off to the restroom to vomit, Brutal and Dean both laughed very hard at him. "Oh, Percy!" Brutal laughed, "You didn't eat just one – you had TWO slices!" He slammed his hand on the desk several times while Dean covered his face as he laughed so hard he cried.  
Bobbie-Jo slowly backed away and then she made her way towards the exit. As she ran off, Brutal and Dean kept laughing, and Dean called out to her, "RUN, BJ, RUN!"  
As he tried getting control of his laughter, Brutal asked Dean, "You think we should let Wild Bill eat the rest of this cake?"  
"Nah!" Dean breathed between laughs, "I might sell it off as a fertilizer for crops!"  
In the meantime, Bobbie-Jo hastily walked through the prison and then made her way back to her bike before riding home, happy that she got revenge on Percy!

Author's Note: For the scene with the cake, I borrowed some inspiration from "The Help".


	29. Chapter 29

Later that night at the Edgecomb house, Paul and Jan were both lying in their beds, trying to go to sleep. Well, Jan was trying to sleep, but Paul laid on his back, thinking about something. He thought about Mrs. Moores, and he also remembered John Coffey's miracles. Jan could sense something wrong with her husband, and said softly, "Honey, you don't tell me what's on your mind, I'm afraid I'll have to smother you with a pillow." She turned around and looked at him as Paul kept moving his fingers in thought.  
"I'm thinking I love you," Paul said softly, "I'm thinking – I don't know what I'd do if you weren't my wife."  
"Oh," Jan mumbled.  
"I'm also thinking I'm gonna have the boys over tomorrow," Paul added, thinking of a brilliant plan.  
Jan thought that was a good idea, too, before she and her husband drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next day, the Edgecomb family was seated at a table outside along with Harry, Dean, and Brutal. Everyone was having lunch consisting of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and biscuits. "Oh boy, you sure do know how to cook chicken," Dean complimented Jan.  
"Oh, thank you," Jan chuckled.  
"It's one delicious treat, ma'am," Dean replied.  
"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying it."  
"My mama sure can cook, can't she?" Bobbie-Jo asked the others with a smile; she was wearing the same pink dress from the day before.  
"Oh, thank you, my dear," Jan smiled with a blush.  
"Hey, Brutal, you gonna hog all them taters?" Dean asked as he looked at the potatoes.  
"Yes sir," Brutal joked, "Here, Dean, you want some taters?"  
"Come on, Brutal," Dean said as Brutal handed them the potatoes.  
"He just wants to see how big you're gonna get, Brutal," Jan teased.  
Paul, meanwhile, decided to change the subject and bring up John Coffey. "Y'all saw what he did to the mouse," he told his co-workers and daughter, remembering how John resurrected Mr. Jingles.

Everyone looked at Paul, and then Brutal stated, "I could've gone the rest of the day without you bringing that up."  
"Yeah, I could've gone the rest of the year," added Dean.  
"Well, he did the same thing for me," Paul said, "He put his hands on me, and took my bladder infection away. And he did the same for Bobbie-Jo after Percy broke two of her ribs."  
Bobbie-Jo frowned, remembering how Percy was so enraged that she was a girl working on the mile that he injured her. "Come on, BJ," Brutal told her when he saw her frown, "You got back at him yesterday, remember?"  
Jan looked at her daughter sternly and inquired, "Barbara Josephine, did you do something your father and I don't know about?"  
Bobbie-Jo gulped nervously, took a deep breath, and said, "Okay. I didn't really go visit any of my friends yesterday. I went to E Block."  
"What were you doing there, young lady?" Harry asked her with a raised brow; he wasn't there the day before.  
All eyes were on Bobbie-Jo as she continued, "I gave that chocolate cake I made to Percy."  
"What's wrong with that?" Jan asked, "And why would you waste a nice dessert on a bitter man like Percy?"  
The corners of Bobbie-Jo's mouth turned up as she continued, "That cake had an extra special ingredient in it."  
"And that was?" Paul asked.  
Bobbie-Jo looked carefully around the table at everyone, and then said, "It was… my feces!"  
Harry, Dean and Brutal burst into laughter while Paul and Jan frowned at their daughter.  
"Really, it's true!" Dean breathed as he laughed, "Harry, you should've seen the look on Percy's face when he found out what was in that cake!"  
As everyone kept laughing, Paul clapped his hands up in the air to get everyone to settle down. "I'm sorry, Paul," Brutal said as he tried to stop laughing, "But your daughter sure does know how to get even with certain people!"  
"I may dislike Percy," Paul stated sternly, "But I damn hope he doesn't end up getting sick!"  
"I don't think he will, Daddy," Bobbie-Jo smiled, "Brutal and Dean and I saw him run to the restroom, and we heard him puking in there, right?"  
Brutal and Dean nodded with grins and chuckles.

After all the laughter and giggles died down, Paul cleared his throat and said, "As I was saying, that man John Coffey put his hands on me and took my infection away."  
After a brief period of silence, Jan said, "It's true. When he came home that day, he was… all better."  
"Oh, now, wait," Dean said, "You're talking about a… authentic healing, crazy Jesus miracle?"  
"I am," Paul replied with a nod.  
"Oh yeah," added Jan.  
"And Mr. Coffey healed my ribs, too!" BJ chimed in as she felt her left side.  
"I hear you say it," Brutal said to Paul, "And I'll say it – what's it got to do with us?"  
"You're thinking about Melinda?" Jan asked Brutal.  
"Melinda?" Brutal repeated, "Melinda Moores?"  
"Yeah," Jan answered before turning to her husband, "So Paul, how you think you're gonna help?"  
"It's not a bladder infection," Paul said, "Or even a busted mouse… I think there might be a chance."  
"Hold on now," Harry stated to Paul, "You're talking about our jobs, sneaking a sick woman into a cell, Paul?"  
"Oh no, no, no," Paul replied, "Hal wouldn't stand for that. You know him – he'd never believe anything, even if it fell on him!"  
"So you're talking about… taking John Coffey to her?" Brutal questioned. Paul nodded, and Brutal said with disbelief, "It's more than just our jobs, Paul. That's prison time if we get caught."  
"Damn right it is!" Dean said.  
"No, not for you, Dean," Paul told him, "See now, the way I figure it, you stay back on the mile, that way you can deny everything."  
"Why do I have to stay behind?" Dean asked.

Paul answered as he looked at his wife and daughter, "Well, our boy's grown up and gone off to school, Bobbie-Jo's gonna finish up high school starting this fall, Harry's girls – they're all married now, Brutal's a single man, you're the only one here with two children and another one on the way."  
"Let's not discuss this if we're thinking of doing it," Harry tried reasoning with Paul. Paul just looked at him and then Harry whispered, "Brutal, help me out here."  
Brutal looked at Paul and said, "I'm sure she's a fine woman."  
Jan nodded and said, "She's the finest."  
"What has happened to her is a shame," Paul stated to the others, "To the eye, and the ear, to the heart…"  
"I have no doubt," Brutal stated, "But we don't know if that man will kill again, do we?"  
"And let's not forget," added Harry, "John Coffey is a murderer."  
Bobbie-Jo frowned a little bit. _I don't think so,_ she thought, _he seems innocent to me._  
"What if he escapes?" Harry continued, "I'd hate to lose my job and go to prison. I'd hate worse to have a dead child on my conscious."  
Paul shook his head and said, "I don't think it's gonna happen." He paused for a moment before continuing, "In fact… I don't think he did it at all." Everyone looked at him as he finished, "I don't see God putting a gift like that into the hands of a man who murdered a child."  
 _Finally, someone to agree with!_ Bobbie-Jo thought to herself with a grin.  
"It's a very tame devotion," Harry stated as he looked at Paul, "But the man is on death row for the crime… and plus, he's HUGE. If he tried to get away, it would take a lot of bullets to stop him."  
Bobbie-Jo frowned again and Brutal pointed out, "Oh, we'd all have shotguns. Big and shiny ones. Let's insist on that. If he tried anything – anything at all – we'd have to take him down." He looked at Paul and finished, "Understand?" After a couple of minutes of silence, Brutal asked Paul, "So, tell us what you have in mind?"  
Paul looked at his daughter and asked her, "BJ, you wanna see another miracle?" Bobbie-Jo smiled as she looked at her father, and Paul continued, "You wanna give Percy more payback?"  
Bobbie-Jo happily nodded and her mother advised her, "You be careful, honey, you hear?"  
"I promise, Mama," Bobbie-Jo said as she made an X on her heart with her finger.


	30. Chapter 30

The next night, all the guards, including Bobbie-Jo (who was dressed in her uniform again), were at Cold Mountain Penitentiary, ready to set their plan in motion. In a dark cellar, a light shone upon some bottles of medicines and remedies. "There it is," a familiar male voice whispered, "I see it." A hand reached in and pulled some sleeping pills off of a shelf; they would be used to keep Wild Bill quiet. It wasn't long before some of the pills were finely chopped into a powder, and then the powder was scraped into a folded piece of paper.  
"You think this is enough?" Brutal asked Paul.  
"I dunno," Paul answered before he and Brutal continued their work on the pills.  
"Let's hope it doesn't kill him," Bobbie-Jo added.

In an office, Percy was sitting at a desk reading a book about taking care of mental patients… or so he was reading the book. Instead, he was looking at a little pamphlet of pornographic illustrations. Outside the office, Brutal, Bobbie-Jo and Paul slowly walked out. Bobbie-Jo got down on her knees and crawled past the office to make sure Percy didn't see her. "If Percy saw me, he'd rip my head for feeding him shit," she whispered.  
"Hey, watch your language, young lady," Brutal softly reminded her as he carried two bottles of soda in his hand, and Paul carried three bottles. The two men stopped to see if Percy would notice them. When they saw he was engrossed in reading, they moved on their way.

Paul picked up a little tin cup and blew some dust out of it. "Ya'll guys thirsty?" Brutal asked Harry and Dean as he approached them with the sodas, "This sure does have policy!"  
"Well! Swell, Brutal, thanks!" Dean said.  
Over in his cell, Wild Bill was lying down on his mattress while only wearing his undergarments. When he heard people talking about thirst, he decided to get up and see if he could have something to drink, too. "Hey, hey!" he called to the guards, "I'm gonna get some, too, ain't I?"  
Everyone looked down towards Wild Bill and Brutal asked him, "Why must you get some?"  
"What makes you think you deserve any?" Paul added.  
"Yeah, after all you've put us through?" Bobbie-Jo chimed in.  
"Cause I've got a big pecker!" Wild Bill softly answered.  
"Well, Dean's reports says he's been okay," Harry pointed out to Paul.  
"Hell yeah, I've been behaving," Wild Bill said, "Come on now, don't be stay-zee hogs!" All the guards looked at Paul as Bill continued, "Come on! Oh, come on now, fellers!"  
Unknown to Bill, Brutal and Paul poured the powdered pills into the tin cup.

From his cell, John Coffey watched what was going on while the guards poured some soda into the cup and swished things around a bit. Paul took the cup and carefully walked over to Wild Bill's cell. Everyone watched with awe as Wild Bill begged, "Come on!"  
When Paul got to Bill's cell, he asked him, "You gonna stay behaved?"  
"Come on, you clankin' idiot," Bill begged as he tried reaching for the cup.  
"You promise me?" Paul inquired, "Or else I'll drink this myself right in front of you."  
As Paul brought the cup up to his lips, Bill moved his lips and begged, "Oh, no, no, no! Don't go on that! Don't drink that away! I'll be good."  
Paul gave a sly look and handed the cup to Wild Bill, who took it and drank from it easily. Everyone watched as Bill swallowed and let out two big belches.  
"Cup?" Paul inquired.  
Wild Bill tossed the cup up in the air a few times before handing it back to Paul with a funny smile. After Paul brought the cup back to the desk, all the guards enjoyed their drinks and waited for the sleeping pill powder to take effect on Wild Bill.

After a few minutes, Wild Bill started feeling dazed and tired. He rolled his eyes upward, and then collapsed onto his bed, landing on his side. The guards went over to check on him, and sure enough, Bill was sleeping like a baby.  
"If anybody wants out, now's the chance," Paul told his friends and daughter.  
"I'm sticking with it," Bobbie-Jo said with a nod.  
"After this, there's no turning back," Paul said. He looked at Brutal and asked, "So? We gonna do this?"  
Everyone nodded and John said, "So that be just fine. I'd like to take a ride." Everyone turned and looked at John, who was watching from his cell.  
"You'll get your chance, John," Bobbie-Jo assured with a smile.  
"I guess we're all in," said Brutal.

A few minutes later, the guards all came to the office where Percy was reading. Both doors opened, startling the young man; Percy closed his book, looked around and inquired, "What is this?"  
Paul held out a straightjacket while Bobbie-Jo stood bravely by his side. "Payback," Paul answered.  
"But this time, I'm not alone," Bobbie-Jo added.  
"That's right," added Brutal.  
Percy climbed onto and skidded across the desk in anger, dropping his book, and shouting, "No! No!" Harry and Brutal grabbed onto him "NO, LET ME GO!" Percy screamed, "Let go of me!"  
"Settle down," Paul told him.  
Brutal undid Percy's belt and took it off him as Percy stammered, "What're you doing?"  
Out of the book was the pamphlet which read, "Miss Lotta Leadpipe." Paul opened the pamphlet and showed Percy the pictures. Brutal gasped and Paul stated, "Miss Lotta Leadpipe."  
"Oh, Percy, what would your mother say?" Brutal asked the young man as he held him tightly.  
Bobbie-Jo, meanwhile, pulled Percy's baton from his discarded belt and said, "I know what my mama would do. She'd give you a good spanking like I'm gonna do right now!"  
"Bobbie-Jo, no!" Paul told her, "Wait a minute, okay?" Bobbie-Jo just frowned as she patted one end of the baton in her left hand.  
"You let go of me, you ignoramus!" Percy ordered Brutal, "I know people! Big people!"  
Paul held the straightjacket in front of Percy and ordered, "Percy, stick out your arms like a good lad!"  
"No, I won't do it!" Percy stammered with fury, "You can't make me!"  
"Oh, you dead wrong about that, you know!" Brutal said as he started pulling on Percy's ears, making him scream in pain as he grabbed the other man's hands.  
"Do it or I'll make you another cake!" Bobbie-Jo warned, "Only I might add dog shit and horse shit to it!"  
Percy screamed even louder as Brutal demanded, "You gonna put your arms up?"  
"A big man is ripping your ears off, Percy," Paul stated, "I'd do as he says!" Eventually, Percy gave in and suck his arms out. "There you go!" Paul said as he and Harry place the straightjacket onto Percy.  
"Good boy!" Bobbie-Jo smirked, "Now you're willing to follow orders. But it's gonna get worse!" She patted Percy's baton at the last two words.

As the men struggled to close up the straightjacket, Percy looked at Paul and pleaded, "Please, Paul! Please don't put me in with Wild Bill, PLEASE!" He remembered the day when Bill groped him and sexually touched him, scaring him so much that he wet himself.  
"You would think that," Paul remarked. He then looked at Bobbie-Jo, who was sitting on top of the desk with an evil smirk, and turned Percy to face her.  
"And what's SHE doing here?!" Percy asked with a mixed tone of anger and shock.  
"I think it's about time you got a good spanking," Paul told Percy.  
"Can I pull his pants down and spank his bare buttocks, Dad?" Bobbie-Jo asked.  
"No, BJ, don't!" Paul said. He moved Percy up to BJ, and then ordered him, "Bend over, Percy!"  
Percy breathed heavily as he bent over towards Bobbie-Jo, who grabbed him by his side and held him close to her legs. Then she took the baton and repeatedly beat him hard on his bottom with it while shouting, " **THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR FUCKING UP DEL'S EXECUTION, AND FOR BREAKING TWO OF MY RIBS!** " She stopped for a moment before giving him a very hard pound and finishing, " _ **GO HOME TO YOUR MAMA!**_ "  
Percy could feel hot tears of pain and anger build up in his eyes as his lips trembled, and Paul and the other men took him out of the office.

Several minutes later, the restraining room door was opened, and Paul, Harry, Brutal and BJ carried Percy over to the room. "No, you can't do this to me!" Percy yelled; his face was red and sweaty, and he had tears coming out from each eye.  
Brutal placed a white cloth into Percy's mouth and held his mouth closed while Paul got some tape and said, "We can let you in on a little secret, Percy?" He placed the tape onto Percy's lips, making him muffle as he continued, "We can, and we are!" Paul and Brutal shoved Percy into the restraining room, and the young man looked at them with an upset look on his face as more tears flowed down his cheeks. Percy muffled something, but Paul said, "We'll give you a few hours of quiet time, Percy, so you can reflect on what you did to Del."  
"Not to mention what you did to me, too!" Bobbie-Jo added with an evil grin.  
"And as you get along, just think about Miss Leadpipe," Brutal added as Paul threw the pamphlet at Percy.  
"And maybe you can have a few tissues to help you 'dry it up?'" Bobbie-Jo added as she threw a few tissues at Percy, "Crybaby!" With that, Paul closed the door, and poor Percy was left in total darkness and solitary confinement.


	31. Chapter 31

After confronting Percy, Bobbie-Jo and the other guards grabbed some shotguns to take along in case something happened. "These are very dangerous guns, and young ladies shouldn't use them," Paul told his daughter as she tried to grab a gun, "You'd better leave this job to us men."  
"You have such a pretty face like your mama's," Brutal added as he put his hand onto Bobbie-Jo's shoulder, "Your father doesn't want you to ruin it."  
Bobbie-Jo gave a forced smile and decided to let it go and stay away from the big guns.  
As the armed men and girl walked alongside Dean, Paul decided to review the plan with the dark blonde man. "Let's go over this one more time," Paul said, "What do you say if someone stops by?"  
Dean thought for a moment, and then said, "I'll tell 'em you got upset; I put the lights out, and I put a coat on him, locked him in the restrained room, that he'd been kicking and fussing at things…"  
"What about me?" Paul added.  
"You got an admin filling in on account of witnesses on how big a screw-up the execution was!" Dean finished as he unlocked the door to John's cell.

As the door opened, John looked down at Paul and Bobbie-Jo and asked them, "We going for a ride now?"  
Bobbie-Jo smiled while Paul simply answered, "That's right – we're going for a ride."  
"What about us, Dean?" Brutal asked the young man.  
"You, Harry, Percy, all them are doing the wash!" Dean responded, "It'll take y'all a few hours before you're back."  
Just then, Wild Bill's arm shot out from his cell and grabbed John by his arm! Bobbie-Jo turned around with a shocked yelp as everyone else turned to see Bill surprisingly awake.  
"Where y'all think you're going?" Wild Bill asked evilly as he held onto John's arm.  
"Let him go!" Bobbie-Jo commanded with a glare.  
John felt something go through him before he breathed, "You a bad man!"  
"That's right, nigger!" Wild Bill smirked wickedly, "Bad as you want!"  
"Watch your mouth, William Wharton!" Bobbie-Jo glared as she started to pull her baton out.  
John kept feeling twinges of bad feelings go through him as Bill still held onto and taunted him, "What's wrong? What's wrong?" The violent inmate chuckled evilly before a light bulb exploded in one of the hanging lamps above!

Wild Bill still kept his grip onto the large inmate's arm before Paul calmly removed Bill's hand, and John was finally free. The violent inmate backed away with a whoop and cried out some gibberish before he stammered, "Back on some shitty-ass drug!" Wild Bill turned around a bit, feeling dizzy as he continued, "Had me some shine, or what! Niggers ought to have their own electric chair! White man… ought to have his own sittin' electric chair!" Then he fell backward and fell into a deep sleep on his bed.  
John just slowly turned to the guards and said with fear, "He's a bad man!"  
Bobbie-Jo looked up at him with concern and nodded, "I know. I'd say he's worse than Percy!"

* * *

Later on, a door opened up, and John Coffey and the guards walked up a flight of stairs, up to a storage facility that was outside the prison. John looked up at the starry sky with wonder as he pointed to a group of stars and softly said, "Look, boss!"  
"What is it?" Bobbie-Jo whispered as she and her father looked up at the stars.  
"Miss Cassie!" John said a bit louder, "The lady in the rocking chair!"  
Paul shushed him and whispered, "John, we have to be quiet!"  
"He's right," Bobbie-Jo added, "You don't wanna get caught, do you?"  
"You see her?" John whispered, "You see the lady?"  
"Yeah, we see her, John," Brutal whispered as he motioned for John and the others to follow him.  
"Yes," whispered Bobbie-Jo with a grin, "That's Cassiopeia – I studied the stars in school last year. I think my favorite constellation is the Big Dipper!"  
"Bobbie-Jo, come on!" Paul whispered to his daughter with force.  
Bobbie-Jo nodded and then followed the others, ready for their night journey.


	32. Chapter 32

A while later, a different door opened, and then Harry peeked out before stepping out and motioning for the others to follow him. After everyone was out of the prison wall door, Paul whispered, "Let's go! Go!"  
Paul, Brutal, and John ran over to hide behind a small hill, while Bobbie-Jo stayed close to Harry for protection. Harry closed the door, and then Paul whispered, "Now!"  
Together, all five of them sprinted silently across a road to hide within some trees. Then they walked among some grass, and John stopped to look at something lying on the ground. The guards and the girl turned around and saw John pick up some leaves in his hands and sniff them.  
"John, what're you doing?" Bobbie-Jo asked with confusion.  
John just smiled and held the leaves out for Paul and his daughter to sniff them. Brutal also took a sniff before Paul softly said to the inmate, "Alright, big boy, let's get moving. Come on."  
John just grinned broadly before he followed the guards through the grass.

The five wanderers walked through a field full of fireflies who were dancing in the air as they switched their lights on and off. Bobbie-Jo sighed and whispered, "I sure do miss those days of going outside at night and catching fireflies in jars with my brother."  
At last, the group arrived at a vehicle that was hidden by some bushes. The guards moved away the branches to reveal a truck with an open rear – just right for carrying large objects. Harry opened up the driver's seat, and then Paul, Brutal, and BJ helped John into the rear of the truck. The four of them took a seat while Harry started the engine, and Paul asked the inmate, "John, you know where we're taking you tonight?"  
"Help a lady?" John asked after thinking for a moment.  
"Exactly," Bobbie-Jo smiled.  
"That's right," added Brutal, "But how do you know?"  
"Don't know," answered John before he paused a bit, "To tell the truth, boss, I don't know much of anything. It's in my hands."  
"The only thing that matters is you're gonna work another miracle," Bobbie-Jo told him with confidence, "Just like with my daddy's infection, with the mouse, and with my ribs." She remembered John's previous miracles; from healing Paul's urinary infection, to resurrecting Mr. Jingles the mouse, to healing Bobbie-Jo's broken ribs after her secret was found out by Percy.

Paul then tapped on the truck a bit, indicating to Harry to drive along. Harry did so, and the wanderers rode off into the woods, bound for the warden's house.  
It wasn't long before everyone arrived at Hal and Melinda Moores's home. Harry stopped the truck, and everyone looked on at the house. "How do you feel turning back?" Brutal asked Paul.  
Just then, a few lights turned on behind two windows. "Boss, look," John said softly as he noticed the lights, "Someone's up!"  
"Oh no!" Bobbie-Jo whispered as she fearfully put her hands over her mouth. She remembered how Mr. Moores didn't ever want to see her in uniform again, and she also worried about his reaction to seeing John out of his cell.  
"The warden's awake!" Brutal said softly as he and Paul got up, "Oh, Christ, what were we thinking?"  
"John, lay low – you stay," Paul said as he motioned for John to stay hidden. He turned to Bobbie-Jo and said, "Bobbie-Jo, stay close to John and Harry, okay?"  
The young girl nodded, and then crouched down to lie on her abdomen.

As Paul and Brutal got out of the truck and walked over to the house, Paul whispered to Harry, "Harry, you keep John and my daughter with you until we call you."  
John got up while Harry slowly opened his door to step out. "Bobbie-Jo, you stay close to me and John, now," he instructed softly, "Got that, sweetheart?"  
"Yeah!" Bobbie-Jo softly nodded as she nervously peeked her head out; she wanted to have a somewhat better look on what was to happen next.  
Paul and Brutal, meanwhile, approached the main door; that door opened, and Hal (dressed in a robe and pajamas) pointed a shotgun and asked with a threat, "Who the hell goes there at two-thirty in the goddamn morning?"  
"Hal!" Paul said as he put his hand up, "It-it's us! It's Paul and Brutal! It's us!"  
"Jesus!" Hal said softly as he slowly lowered his gun and saw the guards, "It isn't a lockdown, is it? Or a riot?"  
"Hal, for God's sakes, just take your finger off the trigger!" Paul warned.  
John Coffey, meanwhile, decided to climb down from the truck's back end. Bobbie-Jo saw him and worriedly asked him through her gritted teeth, "John! What're you doing?!"  
"Any hostages?" Hal asked Paul and Brutal; he put his hand over his eyes to get a better look and asked, "Who's there? Goddamn – who's by that truck?"  
Paul turned and ordered, "Harry, the lights!"  
Harry turned the lights off as John came over to him, followed by Bobbie-Jo.

Hal got a better view and breathed with disbelief, "John Coffey! Bobbie-Jo Edgecomb!" He pointed his shotgun at the inmate and ordered, "HALT!"  
John stopped his put his hand onto Harry's shoulder as Paul cried to the warden, "Hal!"  
"You stay right where you are!" Hal ordered the inmate.  
"Take it easy!" said Paul.  
"Don't you move!" Hal continued to John.  
John slowly moved away from Harry and Bobbie-Jo to see Hal. "John, no!" Harry cried.  
"I'm warning you!" the warden continued.  
"John, are you crazy?!" Bobbie-Jo asked with disbelief.  
"Hal, no!" Paul ordered.  
"I'll shoot!" Hal said as he pointed his gun at the inmate, "I said halt!"  
"Hal, put that gun down!" Paul ordered the warden.  
"HALT!" Hal ordered John.  
"HAL!" Paul cried out.  
"HAL!" a woman's voice cried out from inside the house. The warden slowly put his gun down as Melinda cried out from inside, "Hal, please! Tell them get out! GODDAMMIT!"  
John slowly kept walking as Paul warned his boss, "Hal, now, nobody is hurt. We are here to help."  
"Help what?" Hal asked calmly but defensively, "I don't understand." He looked over at Bobbie-Jo and asked, "And what about your daughter? Didn't I tell her not to wear that uniform anymore?"  
Bobbie-Jo walked up to her father and pleaded, "Please, Mr. Moores! I knew that you could trust Billy-John Edgecomb. Would Bobbie-Jo Edgecomb be much different?"  
"BJ, please!" Paul said to his daughter as he held his hand up. He looked over at Hal and said, "Please – you're just… gonna have to trust me – and Bobbie-Jo."

John walked past the guards and slowly made his way up to the front porch of the Moores home. Hal still pointed his shotgun at the large inmate, but John paid no attention; his main focus was searching for the soul who needed a miracle. The inmate looked at Hal in the face, and the warden asked him, "What do you want?"  
"HAAALLL!" Melinda's voice screamed from inside, "MAKE IT GO AWAY!"  
John just looked upward to where the main bedroom was, and knew that this woman was needing his help. Melinda kept on yelling as Hal looked over at Paul, and then John gently held the warden's gun as he answered, "Just to help. Just to help, boss, that's all."  
"You can't," Hal said to him with disbelief and no hope, "No one can."  
John gently brought the gun away and handed it to Paul, who took it in his free hand.

The large inmate then slowly started to go through the main door as Melinda shouted from inside, "STAY OUTTA HERE!"  
"Don't you go in there!" Hal ordered John, "Don't you do it!"  
John just ignored him as he slowly walked through the vestibule and made his way to a staircase going up.  
The guards and Bobbie-Jo followed John as Hal ordered, "You stop now! You hear me?"  
Paul and Brutal restrained the warden by his arms as Hal warned, "Paul, I don't want him up there!"  
"No. You just be quiet," John softly instructed as he slowly went up the stairs. As he approached Melinda's bedroom, the guards followed him one by one.

When he reached the bedroom, John peered in through the door, and saw Melinda Moores lying on her bed in agony. She slowly turned her head as John opened the door to go inside. After a brief pause, John slowly walked in towards Melinda, who moved around a little bit just as the others came into the scene.  
As Hal went over to stop John, Paul stopped him and softly assured, "It's alright, Hal. It's alright."  
"He's gonna help her, not hurt her," Bobbie-Jo whispered.  
"Just watch him," whispered Brutal, "Just watch him."  
Hal just walked away and came closer to his wife's bed. Melinda looked at John and warned, "Don't come in! Pig fucker!"  
But John just sat beside her on the bed and looked at her agonized face. Everyone watched with awe as the warden's wife breathed, "My handsomeness calls… what you participating?"  
"Can hardly remember ma'am," John softly said as he looked down upon Melinda.

The poor woman wearily looked up at the inmate and asked him, "What's your name?"  
"John Coffey, ma'am," John answered softly and simply, "Like the drink, only not spelled the same." The warden's wife breathed as John asked softly, "May I?"  
After a brief pause, Melinda wearily answered, "Yes, John Coffey."  
"I see it," John whispered as Melinda started crying, "I see it." As poor Melinda kept crying, John gently shushed her and said, "You're gonna stay alive." He slowly and gently leaned in towards her face as he finished, "You be so quiet and so still."  
John then placed his mouth over Melinda's mouth, and then the overhead lights started flashing a bit; Hal took notice of the lights with surprise as John slowly moved his mouth away from Melinda's and then the woman's mouth opened to reveal a bright light. Then, some smoke-like substances left Melinda's mouth and entered John's mouth.  
Bobbie-Jo and the guards looked on with awe as the miracle was taking place.  
Downstairs, the grandfather clock stopped as its pendulum stopped swinging and its glass face cracked. Back upstairs, the room shook, and some things fell and broke! Bobbie-Jo gasped and held onto her father's arm with fear.  
"Bobbie-Jo, it's okay!" Paul assured his daughter as John kept sucking the pain away from Melinda's body.

Suddenly, John closed his mouth, and revealed to everyone that Melinda's face was once again beautiful. "You did it, John!" Bobbie-Jo whispered with tears of happiness, "You made her beautiful again!"  
Hal looked on with surprise as Paul witnessed John coughing, trying to let loose the pain he had removed. Paul put his hand onto John's back, but then the large inmate fell forward and kept on coughing while Brutal put his own hand onto John's back. "Come on, John!" said Brutal, "Sick it up! Come on! Cough it out right down here on the floor!"  
"You can do it, John!" Bobbie-Jo encouraged the inmate.  
Brutal turned to Paul and said, "My God, he's choking! Whatever he sucked outta her, he's choking on it!"  
"John!" Paul said.  
"Please!" added BJ, "Cough it all out!"  
"I'm fine!" John breathed, "Just let me be!"  
Hal, meanwhile, sat next to Melinda on the bed and gazed into her hazel-green eyes. She slowly looked at her husband and asked, "H-How did I get here?"  
Hal smiled sweetly at his wife and knew she was back to normal again!  
"We-we were going to the hospital," Melinda continued to her husband, "In Vicksburg… remember?"  
"Shhh," Hal softly shushed, "Melly, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter anymore."  
"Did I have the x-ray?" Melinda asked as her husband put his hand on her cheek, "Did I?"  
Hal shook his head as Paul softly answered, "Yes. Yes. It was clear – there was no tumor."

At that moment, Hal broke down and began crying into his wife's chest. Melinda just gently put her hand onto her husband's back and comforted him by speaking softly to him. Then, the warden gently lifted his wife up, and the two of them shared several kisses.  
Bobbie-Jo just put her knuckles over her mouth and shook her head with slight disgust.  
John coughed a bit, and Paul instructed him, "John? Can you stand up? Turn around and see this lady?"  
"You can do it," Bobbie-Jo told him with a smile, "She's grateful for you."  
John had trouble breathing as Brutal helped him up; Hal and Melinda turned to see John slowly standing up with Brutal and Harry's help. Then the inmate turned to face Melinda.  
"What's your name?" asked Melinda.  
"John Coffey, ma'am," John breathed.  
"Like the drink," Melinda added, "Only not spelled the same."  
"No, ma'am," said John, "Not spelled the same at all."  
The inmate coughed again as Melinda slowly climbed out of bed. "No," Hal said as his wife got up, "No, you can't…"  
But Paul held her hand as the warden's wife slowly walked over to John.

Hal also got off the bed and watched with awe as his wife looked at John with a sweet smile. "I dreamed of you," she said to John softly, "I dreamed you were wandering in the dark." John's lips trembled as Melinda continued, "And so was I. We found each other. We found each other in the dark." Melinda then bent her head forward and removed a necklace that was fastened around her neck. The warden's wife held the necklace over to John as the inmate and Paul both began choking back tears.  
"Take it, John," Paul said, "It's a present."  
"It's St. Christopher," Melinda said as she showed the charm of her necklace to John, "I want you to have it, Mr. Coffey. And wear it – he'll keep you safe. Please – wear it for me."  
John lowered his head and then allowed Melinda to place the necklace around his neck. The inmate coughed again and then wearily breathed, "Thank you, ma'am."  
"Thank you, John," Melinda said with a sweet smile before she reached her arms up and hugged John.


	33. Chapter 33

A few minutes later, the guards, Bobbie-Jo, and John were leaving the warden's home to go back to Cold Mountain Penitentiary. "Alright," Harry said as he carried two shotguns in his arms, "If he goes down, it'll take two mules and maybe a train to get him up again!"  
John was being carried by Paul and Brutal; each of the two guards carried one of John's arms to support him. Bobbie-Jo was walking in front of them, and behind Harry. "It's okay, John!" she told the inmate, "We'll be back soon!"  
"Take it easy, John!" Paul breathed as he carried John, "If you're gonna make it back, you gotta stay on your feet!"  
John wheezed and coughed again as all the guards and the girl helped him into the rear of the truck. As the inmate laid down, Harry draped a cloth over him, and Brutal took Paul and his daughter aside. "He's gonna sit in Old Sparky, you know that, don't you two?" Brutal asked the two, remembering that John was, no matter what, a death row inmate.  
Bobbie-Jo reluctantly nodded as Brutal continued, "He swallowed that stuff for real! I'll give him a few days. One of us will be doing a cell check, and then he'll be dead on his blanket there!"  
"That's his choice," Paul breathed, "He earned it! Let's just get him back on the mile!"  
So Paul, Brutal, and BJ climbed into the back of the truck, ready to go back to E Block.

Back at E Block, the guards and Bobbie-Jo escorted the ailing John back to his cell. Just then, Paul and Brutal (who were carrying John by his arms again) ran in to Dean. "Oh boy," Dean told them, "Am I glad to see you fellas! You're gone so long, Wild Bill's acting like he's gonna wake up!" He looked at John and asked, "What the hell happened to him?"  
"It's a long story, Dean," Bobbie-Jo told him, "But the good news is, Melinda is cured!"  
"He's hurtin', Dean!" Brutal told the dark blonde man, "He's hurtin' bad!" It wasn't long before Brutal and Paul brought John into his open cell, and Brutal groaned, "Okay, John! We're gonna… sit you down on your bed now! Here we go!" The two guards then let go of John and had him sit down on his cot.  
John laid down on his side and coughed some more, while Paul and Brutal rejoined the others and then locked John's cell.

Paul dried his sweaty face off with a handkerchief, while Dean turned to the others with his hands on his hips. "Well?" said the dark blonde, "What about Mrs. Moores?"  
"I told you, she's cured!" Bobbie-Jo muttered under her breath.  
Dean didn't hear her as he asked the men, "Was it like the mouse? Was it uh… you know, miracle?"  
"Yes," Paul nodded, "Yes, it was."  
"She's… she's beautiful again," Bobbie-Jo added with a small smile.

* * *

A few minutes later, Paul and Brutal decided it was time to give Percy a good talking to in the solitary room. The door opened, and Paul switched on the light as Percy looked at him and his daughter with daggers in his eyes. Dean and Harry stayed on the mile while Paul, Brutal, and Bobbie-Jo crammed in to confront Percy.  
"I hope you're not claustrophobic," Bobbie-Jo told the mean man with a frown, "Cause my daddy and Brutal and I are gonna get in your face now."  
The young girl stayed close to Brutal while Paul knelt down and said calmly to Percy, "Now, I wanna talk – not shout. I take that tape off, you gonna be calm?"  
"Mmm-hmm," Percy muffled through the cloth and tape.  
"Your mother always says if you do it fast, it won't hurt so much," Brutal said softly.  
Paul then pulled the tape off of Percy's lips, making him wince in pain a bit.  
"I guess she was wrong," said Brutal.  
"Look at that little wussy boy!" Bobbie-Jo softly smirked.  
Brutal then took the cloth out of Percy's mouth, making the young man cough a bit. Percy looked up at Paul with a glare and growled, "Lemme outta this nutcoat!"  
"In a minute," Paul said calmly.  
"No, now!" Percy demanded with a yell, "NOW! I WANT OUT NOW!"  
Paul just gave Percy a big, hard slap on his cheek, making him fall over. "You show him, Dad!" Bobbie-Jo whispered.

Brutal pulled Percy up to sit in front of Paul, and the head guard said to him, "Shut up and listen! Now you deserve to be punished for what you did to Del, and to my daughter. You accept it like a man."  
"Yeah, you don't look like you're two years old to me!" Bobbie-Jo added.  
"Bobbie-Jo, please!" Brutal told her as he tugged at her coat sleeve a bit.  
"Or else we'll make you sorry you were ever born," Paul continued to Percy, "Tell people how you sabotaged Del's execution…"  
"Sabotaged?" Percy interrupted.  
"How you pissed yourself like a frightened little girl," Paul continued, "Oh yes. We talked."  
"Not to mention how you kicked me so hard that you broke two of my ribs," Bobbie-Jo added with a glare, "Called me a bitch, and how you spat in my face after that?" Talking about this brought back painful memories about how Percy exposed her as a girl, humiliated her, and injured her.  
"But, Percy," Paul continued, "Mind me now, we'll also see you beaten within the soul of your life. We know people, too. Are you so foolish you don't realize that?" After a short pause, Paul finished, "Let bygones be bygones, hmm? Nothing sets your farther than pride. Nobody knows about that except the… little people in this room."  
"What happens on the mile stays on the mile," Brutal added, "Always has."  
Percy shed a tear of anger, guilt, and shame before he calmly asked, "May I be let out of this coat now?"  
Paul grinned as he and Brutal helped Percy up.  
"Thank you for asking nicely," Bobbie-Jo added softly.

Paul and Brutal undid the buckles on the back of the straightjacket before they set Percy free. Percy snatched his arms away from the sleeves, and then he brushed his fingers through his messy hair, getting it back in place. "My things?" he asked.  
Harry handed Percy his accessory belt as Paul told the young man, "Think it hard, Percy."  
"I intend to," Percy stated calmly, "I intend to think it all very hard. Starting right now." As he walked out, he was secretly planning to tell certain relatives of his about the restraining room, as well as the incident when Bobbie-Jo fed him some of her own feces baked into a cake.


	34. Chapter 34

Bobbie-Jo, her father, and the other guards watched as Percy walked out of the restraining room and put his belt back on. "A good talk, sooner or later," Brutal said to Paul as they remained in the restraining room for a few more seconds.  
As Percy adjusted his tie, he knew something was odd, so he very slowly turned his head towards John Coffey. At that moment, the inmate grabbed Percy by the neck and pulled him up towards his face. Bobbie-Jo and the other guards ran over to John's cell and ordered the inmate to let Percy go.  
Percy, on the other hand, gagged and gasped for air as he brought his baton out; John put his free hand over Percy's baton, and then he opened his mouth, looking at the young man in the eyes.  
"JOHN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Bobbie-Jo screamed, "LET GO!"  
John ignored her and the others as he let out Melinda Moores's pain and agony swarm into Percy's mouth. All the guards backed away and looked on with shock as the bug-like substances sped into Percy as if they were a swarm of angry hornets.

After several seconds, John closed his mouth and loosened his grip on Percy; the young man's baton slid out of his hand as John backed off and then laid down on his cot. Percy, with his mouth still agape, backed away very slowly as Paul softly said, "Easy now, easy."  
"Percy, are you okay?" Bobbie-Jo asked with concern; this was the first time she had ever felt any kind of concern for Percy.  
Percy gave no response, so Paul snapped his fingers at him and waved his hand over his face to get his attention. Then Paul tapped the young man's cheek and softly asked him, "Percy, you all right?"  
Percy just slowly turned his head towards Paul and then gently put his hand out to move Paul out of his way. The young man, in a zombie-like state, then slowly walked away from the guards down the mile.  
"Daddy, what's wrong with Percy?" Bobbie-Jo asked her father.  
"I don't know," Paul answered as he and the others watched Percy continue walking very slowly.

Eventually, Percy arrived in front of Wild Bill's cell. Bill, who had just woken up from his drugged out sleep, sat on his bed and turned to see Percy staring at him in a weird way. "Boy, what you lookin' at?" Bill asked.  
No answer from Percy.  
"What you lookin' at, you limp noodle?" Bill asked as he stood up from his bed, "You wanna kiss my ass? Wanna suck my dick?"  
Again, Percy didn't answer as a tear fell down each of his cheeks. He then pulled his pistol out and pointed it at Wild Bill.  
Paul and the others immediately took notice when they heard the gun cock, and then Percy shot several bullets into Wild Bill's abdomen.  
The violent inmate went backward to his cell wall before he fell to the ground, bleeding and dead.  
The guards all ran over and tackled Percy to the ground, getting his gun free and restraining him. Bobbie-Jo stood a few feet away from them, avoiding any injuries.  
"Grab his gun!" Brutal ordered Dean as he and the other men restrained Percy, "Grab his gun!"  
Paul and Bobbie-Jo looked over to see Wild Bill dying, while Dean muttered, "Oh no! No, no, no, no!"  
On the ground, Percy gasped for air, and the insect-like particles from John Coffey escaped from his mouth and flew up towards the ceiling before they all disappeared. Everyone else just watched with disbelief and amazement.

Paul and Bobbie-Jo both knew that John had something to do with this, so they decided to pay him a visit while all the other guards kept an eye on Percy.  
When the father and daughter arrived at his cell, John explained to them, "I punished them bad men!"  
"What do you mean?" Bobbie-Jo asked with disbelief.  
"I punished them both!" John said.  
"Why?" Paul asked, "Why Wild Bill?"  
"I saw in his heart," John breathed, "When he grabbed my arm."  
"What did you see?" Bobbie-Jo asked with a raised brow.  
"I saw what Wild Billy done," John said as the father and daughter knelt towards him, "All the pain that's there – you can't hide what's in your heart."  
"What?" Paul asked him, "You saw what?"  
"Take my hands, boss," John said as he held his hands out to Paul and BJ, "You and BJ see for yourselves."  
"I don't think Bobbie-Jo should," Paul said as he looked at the inmate's right hand.  
The girl, on the other hand, looked at John's left hand with curiosity. As she slowly moved her own left hand upward, Brutal called out to her, "Bobbie-Jo, listen to your father!"  
"NO!" Bobbie-Jo shot before she turned to her father with moist eyes, "Please, Daddy! I need to know, too! I need to know why John made Percy kill Wild Bill!"  
Paul gave a reluctant nod to his daughter, and agreed to have them each take one of John's hands.  
"Paul! No!" Brutal warned his friend.  
Paul ignored him and then slowly put his right hand out towards the inmate's right hand. Bobbie-Jo did the same for the left hands. "Please!" John softly breathed.  
Bobbie-Jo took a deep breath and slowly put her left hand into John's left, while Paul put his right hand into John's right.

Just then, the father and daughter each felt a strong sensation as John took their hands. "No, please," Paul said softly.  
"John!" Bobbie-Jo breathed.  
"You have to know," John insisted to them, "I gots to give each of you a bit of myself… forgive!" At that part, the sound of children giggling went through Paul and Bobbie-Jo's subconscious. "Forgive what's inside of me so you two can see for yourselves!" John finished.  
As the father and daughter held onto John's hand, they began to see visions of the two girls who were murdered playing the day before everything went wrong. On the mile, lightbulbs sparked and broke as Brutal pleaded for Paul and BJ to let go of John.

 _In the vision, the two girls, Katie and Cora Detterick, were playing jump rope while their father, Klaus, was working on repairing a shed. There was also a scene where the Detterick family was seated for dinner, and everyone was passing the biscuits around._  
 _Paul and Bobbie-Jo endured painful visions of the girls, red paint, a hammer and a nail, and the dinnertime scene. Just then, the mother called, "Klaus! Suppertime! Bring the girls in!"_  
 _Klaus stepped down from his ladder and called to his daughters, "Girls! You heard your mama!"_  
 _The two little girls ran over to their house, ready to eat. But as they ran, we are then given a view of a familiar arm with "Billy the Kid" tattooed on it. Wild Bill was the family's assistant, as he had been painting the shed. Bill wiped his face with his arm before he deviously smiled at the little girls running to go inside their house._  
 _"Come on, Bill!" Klaus called to Bill as he followed his daughters, "That's enough work care today. Come in and get you some supper!"_  
 _Wild Bill grinned before he also went inside to eat supper._

 _At the dinner table, there was another vision of the two girls handing Bill some biscuits while their voices recited the dinner prayer, "God is great, God is good, and we thank him for our food…"_  
 _Paul and his daughter winced and gasped at the hurtful visions before there came a darker vision – Wild Bill using a knife to cut open a screen door in order to go inside the Detterick house to find the girls. Lastly, Paul and Bobbie-Jo listened to the sound of Bill evilly whispering to the girls, "You love your sister? You make any noise, you know what happens? I'm gonna kill her instead of you. If YOU make any noise, I'm gonna kill her, you understand? Shhh…"_  
At that moment, John let go of Paul and Bobbie-Jo, sending them in panicking breaths and falling backward. The father and daughter looked at John with pain in their faces, and John simply said to them, "He kill them with love… they love each other. Now you see how it is. That's the way it is every day. That's the way it is all over the world."  
Bobbie-Jo's lips trembled and she whimpered before breaking down to cry. The poor girl cried into her hands and sobbed, "Oh, John! I know now!" Paul took his daughter and embraced her in a tight hug as Bobbie-Jo kept sobbing, "I know what you mean when you said that you tried to take it back. But it was too late!" Paul stroked his daughter's hair and gently rubbed her back as Bobbie-Jo kept on crying, "It was too late! You just wanted to help… but you were… at the wrong place at the wrong time!"


	35. Chapter 35

A while later, some police officers, news reporters, Hal Moores, and Bill Dodge were on the mile, examining what had happened to both Wild Bill and Percy. "Percy?" one of the men said as Bill Dodge snapped his fingers, "Percy Wetmore!"  
No answer.  
"Son?" said Bill as he shook Percy a bit, "Son, can you hear me?"  
"Speak up if you can hear us!" the other man said.  
Bill just looked at him and said, "I think this boy's cheese just slid off his cracker."  
Hal walked over to Paul and Bobbie-Jo with a stern look while Brutal and the other men were telling a reporter about what happened with Percy the past few days before he went catatonic. The warden motioned for Paul and his daughter to step aside and come with him for a few moments. "I'll tell it for you, as much as I can," Hal said to Paul, "Even if it means my job, but I have to know. Does this have anything to do with what happened at my house?" Paul thought for a moment and looked at his daughter before Hal finished, "Does it, Paul?"  
Bobbie-Jo looked up at her father. "No," Paul said as he shook his head a bit.  
The next day, at Briar Ridge Mental Hospital, a door opened, and two doctors walked in with a familiar young man. Percy was now wearing a hospital gown and a pair of slippers as he slowly walked into his new home – a hospital room. Poor, pitiful Percy was now in a permanent catatonic state, and he eventually moved onto Briar Ridge. Not as an employee, but as a mental patient!

* * *

Later that evening, at the Edgecomb home, Paul was sitting a table, drinking alcohol and listening to music on the radio. He was thinking about his and Bobbie-Jo's experiences with John, and how they were given the horrific vision of what really happened to the Detterick girls. Just then, Jan arrived and smiled at her husband. Jan then heaved a sigh and walked over to kiss Paul on the forehead. Paul gently took his wife's hand and gave it a few kisses.  
Jan took a seat by Paul as he turned the radio off, and she asked him, "Does Hal know? That Coffey's innocent, I mean?"  
It was clear that Paul and his daughter had told Jan about the ordeal, but Paul shook his head.  
"Can he help?" Jan asked, "Does he have the influence to do something about this? Stop the execution?"  
"No," Paul answered softly.  
After a brief period of silence, Jan said to her husband, "Then don't tell. Can't help, don't tell him."  
Paul sighed and said, "I won't."  
Jan gently took her husband's hand, and Paul exhaled through his nostrils.  
"There's no way out of this for you, is there?" Jan asked with sympathy.  
"No," Paul answered, "I'd never think about it. I can't let that keep running through my head for a number of ways."

Unknown to Paul or Jan, Bobbie-Jo had silently snuck out of her bedroom, and she was eavesdropping upon the staircase. The young girl was thinking to herself about why her father hadn't told the warden. John can't die now that we know he's innocent, she thought with a sad face, I have to visit him one last time.  
"I'm sure our daughter's gonna be scarred for life," Jan added to her husband.  
"Let's hope not," Paul said. "But she's a strong girl. And she's still pretty young – hopefully she'll forget it in time and just move on."  
On the stairs, Bobbie-Jo just shook her head with a sad look. But then she thought some more; this time, she thought about John's miracles, and how anything was possible if she just believed and stayed strong. So she just got up and decided to go back to her room while her parents continued in their conversation.

In her room, Bobbie-Jo climbed into bed and fell asleep. As she slept, she began to dream of some angels singing to her about hope and miracles. One angel slowly flew down to her and sang:

 _Many nights we've prayed_  
 _With no proof anyone could hear_  
 _In our hearts a hopeful song_  
 _We barely understood_  
 _Now we are not afraid_  
 _Although we know there's much to fear_  
 _We were moving mountains_  
 _Long before we knew we could_

Bobbie-Jo, in her dream, looked up at the angels with tears in her eyes, and remembered all the awful times she had witnessed recently – her father getting a urinary infection, Percy bullying Eduard Delacroix, the botched execution, and the night when Bobbie-Jo's secret was found out. But then the angel produced some light in her hands and sang:

 _There can be miracles_  
 _When you believe_  
 _Though hope is frail_  
 _It's hard to kill_  
 _Who knows what miracles_  
 _You can achieve_  
 _When you believe, somehow you will_  
 _You will when you believe!_

A different angel flew towards Bobbie-Jo and gently took her hand to help her to her feet. While doing so, a flock of doves flew in the starry sky, while some child angels (including two representing the Detterick girls) came to join the adult angels.

 _In this time of fear_  
 _When prayers so often proved in vain_  
 _Hope seems like the summer birds_  
 _Too swiftly flew away_  
 _Yet now I'm standing here_  
 _(Now I'm standing here)_  
 _My heart so full I can't explain_  
 _Seeking faith and speaking words_  
 _I never thought I'd say_

The starry sky turned into a bright, sunny morning as all the angels embraced Bobbie-Jo and sang to her:

 _There can be miracles_  
 _When you believe_  
 _(When you believe)_  
 _Though hope is frail_  
 _It's hard to kill_  
 _(It's hard to kill)_  
 _Who knows what miracles_  
 _You can achieve_  
 _When you believe, somehow you will_  
 _You will when you believe!_

The child angels began singing in Hebrew as they flew up into the sky and played among the clouds. Bobbie-Jo, on the other hand, was escorted down to Earth by two adult angels, giving her permission to not let the painful things in life get the best of her. Even though BJ still had hurtful memories of death row, she also remembered her father's co-workers (except Percy) who supported her and trusted her, even after she was exposed by a girl.  
As the young girl wandered through a field of flowers with the young angels, the older, adult angels came back to Earth and formed up a choir as they all say joyously:

 _There can be miracles_  
 _When you believe_  
 _(When you believe)_  
 _Though hope is frail_  
 _It's hard to kill_  
 _(It's hard to kill)_  
 _Who knows what miracles_  
 _You can achieve_  
 _When you believe, somehow you will_  
 _Now you will_  
 _You will when you believe! (2x)_

Back in reality, Bobbie-Jo smiled in her sleep with tear-stained cheeks. Even though she had experienced so many painful memories, she also remembered John Coffey and his amazing miracles.

Author's Note: The song "When You Believe" is from The Prince of Egypt ((c) Dreamworks)


End file.
